Best Kept Secrets
by Headbanger Rockstar
Summary: 6th Story in the Terminal Orders series. The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person - if you must. There is no third best. Secrets are shared, changes are made. At the end of the day, things will never be the same. Angst/Hurt-comfort. Rated T for language/situations. AU WIP.
1. Bruised, Not Broken

**Author's Note:** Hi Everyone! I'm back with the newest installment of the Terminal Orders/Little Tony series! This story starts about 3 years after we ended Game Changer. Tony is about to turn 16 and Kelly is 17 going on 18. Lots going on in this story—and I promise it won't be sad like the last one. In fact, I vote we have a little fun! :) Some familiar faces will appear, some changes are on the horizon and of course, as the title hints, there will be some secrets kept and shared as well. So please join me on this new adventure—and thanks for coming along for the ride!

_Thanks as always to my wonderful friend and beta reader, Gotgoats. Goats is the one who finally came up with the name of this story which was previously titled "Untitled" lol…_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. I am borrowing them and promise to return them to the toy box when I am finished.**_

**Best Kept Secrets  
**By Headbanger_Rockstar

**Chapter 1: Bruised, Not Broken**

Tony Gibbs waved goodbye to his boss and fellow coworkers at the local pizza parlor and headed outside. He'd been hired there several months ago to work as a busboy and was really enjoying his new job. He met lots of interesting people, didn't have to listen to them fuss and whine about their orders, didn't have to do anything but smile and keep the tables clean. He got a cut of the tips each night and every other weekend off. He worked two school nights during the week and his boss was nice enough to let Tony give him his practice and game schedules ahead of time to make sure that he could work on nights he didn't have other commitments.

It was only a couple of weeks before his sixteenth birthday and he couldn't wait. His dad had gone with him to get the worker's permit allowing him to have a job at only 15 years old. Tony had begged and pleaded to be allowed to get a job. Kelly had a job at the neighborhood grocery store, where she worked as a cashier. Tony didn't like feeling like he was freeloading off of his dad, even though he was still a kid. He and Kelly both knew how hard their dad, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, worked to make sure they were all happy and well taken care of and provided for.

Since their mom died about three years ago, the Gibbs family had worked hard to keep it together. Jethro hadn't asked either of his kids to get a job; that was something they'd both come up with on their own. They were each paying for their own clothes, shoes and entertainment. If they had a family night out, Jethro paid, but if the kids wanted to go out with their friends, they paid their own way. Each of them also helped to pay for some groceries each month too. Jethro was astounded by the responsibility his children showed. They helped because they were a team; they worked together because they loved each other and didn't want to make it harder for the others. The first one home fixed dinner, the last one home did the dishes. The family had a system that worked for them.

On this particular night, Tony planned to hop on his bicycle and head towards home. The pizza parlor was about seven blocks from where Tony lived with his family. Normally he wouldn't even blink at walking a few blocks, but since it was dark when he got off, Jethro insisted he at least have his bicycle. Because of the nature of Jethro's work, it wasn't always guaranteed that he'd be off work in time to pick up the kids from their jobs. When he was off work, he met the kids and picked them up. Otherwise they kept their cell phones handy and rode their bikes or hitched a ride with one of their buddies.

Tony stopped outside at the bike rack and looked around. His bike wasn't where he'd left it. A frown began to crease his features and he let out a grunt of frustration.

"Awwww," he heard someone sneer in the alley near where he was standing. "Whassa matter? You lose something?" the voice taunted. The person was standing in the shadows and Tony couldn't see them.

Tony decided to ignore the person speaking to him. Seriously, being kind of a bookish kid, he got enough harassment at school from the other kids. He didn't need to do it here. With a quiet sigh, Tony turned and started walking towards home. As he walked, he heard the sound of a bicycle approaching from behind him but when he glanced over his shoulder he didn't see them. A moment later, the bike slammed into his right side—his blind side—and knocked him off the sidewalk into the gutter. Tony pushed himself up on an elbow and straightened his glasses carefully, watching in dismay as his bicycle rode away into the darkness, surely to never be heard from again. He climbed slowly to his feet and brushed himself off. It had rained earlier in the day and so Tony's left side was mostly soaked and covered in mud. The teenager frowned darkly and stuck his hand into his pocket. He decided to call his dad and let him know he'd be a little late getting home since he now had to walk.

His eyes widened in anxiety when he pulled the phone out and saw all of the cracks. His phone was busted. He must have landed on it. Tony glanced around and ran a hand over his mouth. He didn't want to go back into the restaurant—surely the other kids would pick on him for getting run over by his own bicycle. He was tired, wet and cold…he just wanted to go home. With a quiet sigh he started walking.

xxx

Seven blocks away, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was down in the basement of their house sanding on the family's half-completed boat. The boat was a project they'd all decided on together after Shannon died. They'd been working on it together (and Jethro some by himself) for almost three years now and the boat was slowly coming together. They'd decided to use a more traditional building method that did not utilize any power tools which was slowing the process down some. As he sanded he glanced over to the small alarm clock he kept plugged into the outlet and frowned. He knew Kelly was home—she'd come home an hour or so earlier and was upstairs working on her homework. Tony was due home a few minutes earlier and he hadn't called. That was odd; normally the spunky teenager called to let his Dad know if he was going to be late.

Jethro pulled out his phone and quickly hit the speed dial for Tony's number.

_~Hi this is Tony. Please leave a message.~_

Jethro frowned. Tony always answered his phone. Always. "Tony it's Dad. It's late and you're not home. Call me." He glanced at the phone and the alarm clock for a long moment before putting the sander down. He needed to go find his boy. "Hey Kells!" he hollered through the house from near the front door.

"Yeah!" Kelly hollered back.

"Gonna go find Tony, back soon!" He called.

"Waitaminute!" Kelly shrieked and Jethro smiled when he heard the thunderous footsteps above him. "Can I come with you?"

"Why don't you stay here in case he shows up? Call me ok?"

Kelly twisted her fingers together nervously and nodded. "Do you think he's ok?"

"I hope so. Gonna go find him. Back soon."

xxx

Tony made it about a block before his leg cramped up on him. Tony was a pretty athletic kid despite the injuries that had left him nearly permanently crippled when he was a small child. He occasionally had some pretty substantial leg cramps as a result of the injuries he'd sustained, but so far they hadn't been too bad. Some rest, maybe some Tylenol and he was generally good as new. Now his leg had all but seized up on him and he gasped in pain when it hurt to put weight on his leg. He could see there was a bench up ahead and decided to make it that far then rest for a bit. When he'd gotten knocked over by the jerk on his bike he'd put a lot of his weight on his bad leg and it was cramping and sore now. He hoped that in a few minutes the pain would pass enough that he could continue his walk. He wondered if his dad was off work yet. He hoped so. Kelly was not a fan of being at home by herself in the evenings.

He all but collapsed on the bench and let out a snarl of frustration when it immediately began to rain. Not just a light drizzle, either. No this was the hard, torrential downpour, immediately fills up the storm drains kind of rain.

"Wish that jerk hadn't stolen my dang bike," Tony grumped. "Wish he hadn't run me over with it and knocked me in the gutter so my phone got busted. Stupid day. Stupid soggy day." He wrapped his arms around his middle and tried to focus on his breathing. Sometimes if he could relax, the leg cramp would ease up quicker.

A car pulled up in front of him and stopped. Tony looked up and would have leapt for joy if he'd been able to put any weight on his leg. Jethro stood up out of the car and looked over the hood at him. "Tony? Ya ok?" he moved around the car and joined his boy on the bench. "Kinda late," he commented mildly. "Not like you to not call."

Tony looked up at his dad, thankful that he didn't sound angry. Their relationship had experienced some outside challenges right after Shannon's passing but they were now back on level ground. "Hey Dad," Tony said sullenly. "Sorry I didn't call."

"What's going on Tony? Where's your bike?"

"It went that a way," Tony pointed in the direction the guy had ridden it.

"Without you?" Jethro raised an eyebrow.

"Someone stole it," Tony shrugged. "So of course it had to rain."

"Coulda called me. I woulda come to get you," Jethro said, wrapping an arm around Tony's slightly trembling shoulders. It was mid-March and, while warm for the season so far, it was still pretty cool outside. And raining.

"My cell phone got busted," Tony pulled it out of his pocket to show the destroyed device to his dad.

"How did it get busted?"

"I fell on it," Tony said, staring at his lap.

"Ok let's get you home, then you can tell me everything," Jethro said calmly. "You said you fell over. Leg ok?"

"Got a bad cramp. That's why I was sitting. I was walking, but then it cramped so I was going to give it just a minute then keep going."

Jethro stood up and hooked a hand under Tony's elbow. "Let's go. C'mon I'll help you. Last thing you need is to get sick from being cold and wet. C'mon. Kelly's at home. I know Sasha will be glad to see you too."

Sasha was Tony's dog, given to him on the first birthday he had with the Gibbses. She was an old dog now, well over ten years old. The puppy was gone from her, but she still loved her boy and met him faithfully at the door each evening when he arrived home and slept on the bed with him each night. She was a good dog, had kept all of Tony's secrets and caught most of his tears. Next to Kelly, she was Tony's best friend. Older and slower now, she was living out her retirement, basking in front of the front door, eating doggie treats and being loved on by her family. Life was good.

The cramp in Tony's leg was thankfully easing as he stood up and they made their way back to the car. Tony was soaked to the skin, wearing only his thin jacket, and Jethro wasn't in much better shape. Jethro slid behind the wheel and cranked up the heat and pointed the vents towards Tony. He put the car in gear and headed back out into traffic, checking his mirrors as he pulled back into the flow. As they drove the short distance to the house, Jethro stole several glances over at Tony, assessing him silently, wanting to ask a million questions, but knowing this wasn't the time for a hard core interrogation.

"Did you eat dinner?" Jethro asked quietly, changing the subject and forcing his eyes back onto the road.

"I only got to eat part of it," Tony said, staring at his lap. "We got busy and I by the time I got back to my food someone threw it out."

"We've got plenty of leftovers at home if you want some dinner. Or we have snacks too. We'll get ya fixed up," he smiled at Tony.

Tony nodded slowly. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I guess I'm just tired. It's been a crappy day."

Jethro reached over and gave Tony's shoulder a gentle squeeze before patting him on the knee. "You wanna talk about it?"

Tony shrugged. "Kinda pissed my bike got stolen. I chained it up and everything. And then after they stole it they pretty much ran me over with it."

"You got run over?" Jethro asked sharply, glancing at Tony in concern.

"He just bumped me with the bike as he went by. It wasn't like I got hit by a Mack Truck or anything like that," Tony said, humor in his voice.

Jethro blamed every gray hair on his head on Tony. That child was going to be the death of him. "Gotta be careful, kiddo," he said, more because it's what fathers say. He knew Tony knew it.

"Next time I'll walk down the street instead of the sidewalk," Tony deadpanned. "It might be safer than walking on the sidewalks."

"We could wrap you in bubble wrap," Jethro deadpanned back (though he was only halfway joking). "You could be like the boy in the bubble!"

Tony looked at him like he'd grown another head. "Riiight, because being a bookworm doesn't get me picked on enough. That's great, Dad. Best idea ever."

xxx

Kelly was waiting for them at the front door when Jethro and Tony returned home. "Tony why didn't you call?!" she exclaimed, racing down the front steps and tackling her brother in an embrace.

Tony smiled at his sister's antics and hugged her back. "Oh good grief," he moaned dramatically. "I was like five minutes late!"

Kelly pulled back and looked at him seriously. "In this family, we call if we're late. We have to keep each other safe. We can't do that if we don't know where we all are. You _know _that."

The smile dropped from Tony's face and he looked as though she'd slapped him. They never talked about what had happened. They never talked about why everyone was so meticulous about making and following plans. Thankfully, Jethro stepped in. "Easy Kelly," Jethro said with a gentle half smile. "Tony wanted to call, but his phone got busted and his bike got stolen. He's not having the best day. Let's give him a little break. When I went to get him he was right where he should be—right on his way home. Weren't ya kiddo?"

Tony looked up at his dad and nodded silently. "I'm sorry I scared you guys," he mumbled. "I um…I think I'm going to go to bed. Thanks for coming and getting me, Daddy," Tony slowly shouldered his way past his sister and headed inside.

Kelly and her Daddy watched as Tony moved inside slowly. He still walked with a trace of the limp he'd gotten with the leg cramp and his shoulders were drooped with the stress of the day. "Daddy is he ok?" she asked uncertainly.

Jethro looked at his daughter, a beautiful seventeen year old who couldn't wait to finish her senior year in high school. He sighed and patted her on the shoulder as they headed inside behind Tony. "I hope so," he said. "Seems like something's bothering him, doesn't it?"

Kelly nodded. "I wonder if it's got anything to do with _Sarah_." Kelly said Tony's girlfriend's name in a haughty tone and Jethro barely suppressed a smile. He didn't like Tony's newest girlfriend either. Kelly was always in awe of her brother and his ability to move so swiftly from one relationship to another. She did not like Sarah though. Sarah was a bit on the…high maintenance side.

Just inside the front door, Tony winced when he heard his sister talking about his girlfriend as he took off his jacket. He knew Kelly didn't like Sarah. He wasn't positive, but he didn't think Daddy liked her much either, though he tried to be friendly and accommodating whenever she came over after school. He didn't want to tell his family that he and Sarah had broken up today—on top of everything else that had gone wrong. Sarah was pressuring Tony to be more…intimate with her…and Tony was just not ready for that kind of commitment. He was terrified of the idea of accidentally getting Sarah pregnant; didn't want to take any chances on becoming a father—by plan or by accident. But the fact remained that it would be common knowledge around the locker room by tomorrow (Sarah was well liked among all of the popular kids and news travelled like lightning through their grapevine)…for tonight he just wanted to go to his room, have a good cry and be ready to bounce back to his normal routine tomorrow.

Tony was a tremendously handsome almost-sixteen year old. His hair was the right shade and looked much better now that he kept it short. He'd grown it out to the length of his chin when he was in middle school…right after Mom died. Once he'd started high school though it became too much of a hassle to always have to comb it and fix it and style it. He was always wearing helmets or sweating or running or something, and he found the long hair got in his way more often than not. So he'd cut it shorter, still a bit long on top, still requiring combing on occasion, but much more stylish and short than he'd worn it before. His wireframe glasses complemented the shape of his face and the scar he'd gotten from the gunshot wound to his head when he was only six years old was a distant memory, faded with time and not visible unless you went looking for it. He kept his face neatly shaved clean of all peach-fuzz and in the summer his skin soaked up the sun, giving him a lovely bronze color that spoke of a possible Mediterranean heritage. He'd lost that gangly awkwardness with his latest growth spurt and was almost as tall as his daddy now.

As he trudged up the stairs, Tony hissed when his leg cramped up again. He faltered on the stairs for a moment and bit his lip against the pain. He didn't want to be fussed over tonight, so he pressed on, continuing up the stairs, hoping to make it to his bedroom before anyone noticed. He stopped by the bathroom and grabbed a couple of ibuprofen out of the medicine cabinet. He swallowed them dry and headed back to his room. He nearly squeaked in surprise when he saw his dad sitting on the bed.

"H-Hey Dad," Tony said, shoving a hand under his pillow and retrieving the t-shirt he'd been sleeping in all week. "What's up?"

Jethro half smiled at him. "Could ask you the same question, there, Chief," he said quietly.

Tony pulled his t-shirt over his head and unbuttoned his jeans which were still soggy from the rain. He slipped them off and threw them in the hamper and pulled on his sweat pants. "What do you mean?" he asked innocently. He sat down on the bed beside Jethro, but didn't look at him.

Jethro sat with his boy for a moment, not speaking, cursing the past that had created so many obstacles in their relationship over the years. They were admittedly doing much better now, but Tony was often reluctant to share, especially if something was bothering him. It worried Jethro tremendously. Finally he looked over at his boy after glancing at the clock. "It's not too late yet. Wanna sand the boat?"

Tony thought about it. He knew sanding the boat was code for "let's go hang out in the basement until you decide to talk." He also knew that with the coming storm at school the following day, he was sure to need reinforcements. His dad always had good advice.

"Yeah," he said hoarsely. "That's a good idea."

Jethro nodded and stood up. He put his hands on Tony's shoulders and smiled. "I'm glad you're safe son. Was worried when we didn't hear from you."

"I'm sorry I made you worry. I guess I should have gone back inside and called, but I really didn't think it'd take me that long to get home."

"I know. It's alright. Just glad you're safe," Jethro smiled and tapped Tony on the bottom of his chin with two fingers. "Meet ya in the basement?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, Dad. Think I might stop over for a snack on the way."

Jethro smiled. "I figured as much. There's all sorts of things to eat in there. You can have your pick." He turned and left Tony to his thoughts, knowing his boy would be behind him soon.

Tony sat on the bed for a couple of minutes, willing the ibuprofen to start working a bit before he went down to the cool, damp basement. His thoughts started to drift, but before he let that happen he forced himself to his feet and headed down the stairs. He moved slowly on the stairs, not wanting to fall if his leg suddenly cramped up. He stopped in the kitchen and made himself a ham sandwich and carried it and a cup of juice to the basement with him. He shook his head and smiled, taking a bite out of his sandwich at the bottom of the stairs as he watched his dad work. Jethro got so wound up in working on the boat, it was not entirely uncommon for him to lose track of time—sometimes staying focused on the task for hours. Tony enjoyed working on the boat, but his dad was the one with the real talent. He still didn't know how they were going to get the boat out of the basement either.

"Hiya kiddo," Jethro greeted him as Tony settled his snack on the workbench for easy access and picked up a sanding block.

"Hey," Tony murmured. He picked a spot near the other end of the boat and began sanding. He and his dad had spent many hours working on the boat together. Kelly didn't particularly enjoy working on the boat. Sometimes she would come downstairs with them and read or sit in the recliner and chat with them or something, but Tony and Jethro did most of the work.

The two worked in companionable silence for a long time and with each pull of the sanding block on the wood, some of Tony's resolve melted away. Jethro kept an inconspicuous eye on him, not talking, working quietly, watching as his son slowly let his guard down.

Tony finally relented, almost without realizing it, between one breath and the next. "Sarah broke up with me today," he mumbled.

Jethro's hand faltered slightly with the planer and he shot a concerned glance in Tony's direction when the boy sniffled suspiciously. "I'm sorry to hear that son," he said quietly, turning back to his work.

It was probably another fifteen minutes before Tony spoke again, though Jethro knew silent tears had been falling the entire time. "I wish I coulda made her understand me better," he mumbled.

"Did you guys get into an argument?" Jethro asked gently.

"Yes. No. Maybe. Kinda?" Tony looked up at his dad. "You know you told me that I'd screw relationships up and that it's normal…boy…I knocked it out of the park on this one," he sighed.

Jethro glanced at Tony and his mouth dragged up into a half smile. "Yeah? What happened Tony?"

"She…I wasn't…I mean…" Tony broke off with a frustrated groan. "She wanted me to…ya know…but I didn't…um…I didn't think it was a good idea."

Jethro put the planer down and picked up his coffee cup. He leaned back against the workbench and rubbed a hand over his forehead. Surely his kids weren't THIS old now? "Let me make sure I am understanding you correctly," he said. "She wanted to have sex?"

Tony flinched at the word. "Yeah," he said. He joined his dad at the workbench and took a sip of his juice. "But I don't…I mean I didn't want…I was scared," he admitted finally, his voice just barely above a whisper.

Of all the things Jethro was expecting Tony to tell him, being scared of sex wasn't on the list. "Ok…wanna talk about why?" he asked carefully.

"I don't want her to get pregnant," Tony whispered, closing his eyes. "And I couldn't ever get her to give me a straight answer about whether or not she was on birth control."

Jethro flinched at those words. He didn't want to think about his children—especially his YOUNGEST child—hanging out with kids who needed to be on birth control before they were out of high school. "That's uh…that's a good reason to not want to do it, Tony," Jethro praised quietly. "I think you made the right decision."

"I'm not ready to be a dad yet! I'm so not done being a kid! And what if…" his voice trailed off, leaving only at troubled expression on his face in its wake.

"What if what Tony?" Jethro murmured.

"What if I'm not a good dad? I mean when the time comes? What if…what if I screw it up? What if I'm…if I'm not like you? What if I'm like…_him?"_

Jethro grabbed Tony and pulled him into a tight embrace. "That isn't going to happen. You are good. You are so good. You're kind and considerate and caring. You're responsible—do you know how many kids your age wouldn't give a second thought to the idea that a baby could come from sex? Do you know how proud of you I am?"

"I just…it scares me. I wasn't…my bio mom and dad…they didn't want me. They didn't love me. I can't stand the thought of having a baby that I'm not ready for or that I don't want…I'm only fifteen, Dad. I don't know if I want kids yet! I don't even know what I want for lunch tomorrow!"

Jethro cupped Tony's face in his hands to make sure Tony looked at him. "That is ok, Tony! You don't have to have all those answers yet! And if Sarah was pressuring you…well, then she got what she deserved. But I'm sorry you got your heart broken in the process."

"I don't think it's broken," Tony said, shaking his head slightly. "Maybe a little bruised, though."

"Ah Tony," Jethro hugged him again and smiled sadly when he felt Tony's shoulders start to shake. "I know it's hard. It'll get better though. You'll meet someone one day, and they will sweep you off your feet and we won't be able to do a thing with you you'll be so in love. And it won't get messed up. And it won't be complicated. When it's right…the pieces just fall into place. The hard part is putting yourself back out there after you've had your heart broken. Or a little bruised."

It took Tony a few minutes to pull himself together and he eventually extricated himself from his dad's embrace and wiped his eyes. "Sorry for crying all over you like a big baby," he said sheepishly. "See—more proof I'm not ready to be a dad. I still cry like I'm two!"

Jethro looked at his son seriously. "Have I ever made you feel like there's something wrong with that?" he asked.

Tony shook his head. "No, but…I mean c'mon Dad. People don't just cry all the time. Especially guys."

"People cry when they need to. Even guys. And if you feel safe to come and talk to me and cry on my shoulder? Then you will always be welcome to do that. I will never tell you that you can't come to me. You hear?"

Tony smiled faintly. He looked exhausted. "I hear ya Dad. Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me. I'm just doing my job kiddo. My job is to make sure you have everything you need. And what I think you need right now is some sleep, yeah?"

Tony yawned. "Yeah. Think so."

"How's the leg?"

"It's ok. I took some ibuprofen."

"Still cramping?"

"Eh, little bit. Not bad."

"What time is your game tomorrow?" They were right in the middle of soccer season and Tony was the star of the team.

"It's at six. At the school."

"When is your next away game?"

"Next week. Dad?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"Are you um….are you going to be able to come? To my game?"

Jethro smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world! I'll see if I can bring the team along too. They enjoy watching you play. I think they enjoy the break from work too."

Tony snorted and shook his head. "That'd be good. Really good."

Jethro ruffled Tony's hair. "Go get some rest kiddo. Thank you for trusting me and talking to me about all this."

Tony smiled. "Thanks for listening Dad. I um…I love you."

"Goodnight son. I love you too. Sleep well."

Tony hugged his dad again, "Night Daddy."

TBC…


	2. Tough Day At School

Warning: Kids say the darndest things…we're gonna walk right up to the line of hate speech, but I am refusing to cross it. Some mean kids ahead though, be warned. Some language in this one. Also some locker room violence. Nothing too graphic though.

_Special thanks to my beta, Gotgoats!_

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 2: Tough Day At School**

The next morning a familiar smell pulled Tony out of his sound sleep, rubbing his eyes and wondering if he was losing his mind. Why would he be smelling blueberry pancakes on a school morning? For a split second he was hopeful that it was Saturday, but that hope quickly disintegrated when his alarm clock went off. He slid out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. He quickly took a shower, took longer styling his hair than he did bathing, then hurried back to his bedroom with the towel wrapped around his waist so he could get dressed.

He noticed that his knee was a bit swollen this morning, but chalked it up to the leg cramp he'd had the night before. He narrowed his eyes at it and rubbed his hand over it. "Huh," he said. "Wonder what's up with that?" he rubbed it a little more, fascinated by the way it pressed in then puffed back out. He quickly pulled on his stylish jeans and a button down top. He tugged on his shoes. That smell was drawing him down the stairs. He couldn't resist it and he wasn't dreaming.

Someone really was making blueberry pancakes for breakfast!

Tony blinked in surprise when he saw Kelly standing at the stove. His sister hated mornings passionately. Tony almost always had to go poke Kelly to get her out of bed. This morning, however, she stood at the stove, seemingly ready to go to school, watching the pancakes carefully. His breath caught in his throat for a moment and he blinked hard several times.

She looked just like Mom.

"Mornin' sis," Tony greeted as he moved to the fridge and pulled out the gallon of milk. He unscrewed the cap and lifted it to his mouth, taking a long healthy draught off of it and smacking his lips in pleasure when he was finished.

"Most people use a glass," his dad commented mildly from the dining room table. He had the paper spread out in front of him and a cup of coffee in one hand, a plate of warm pancakes close by.

"Morning Tony," Kelly said. She smiled at him and flipped two pancakes out onto the plate and quickly buttered them. She passed them to Tony with a smile. "I know you had a rough night last night, what with your bike and all. So I thought I'd make you something yummy for breakfast. Maybe make today a little better."

Tony smiled at his sister's thoughtfulness and set the plate down before wrapping her in a huge hug—both arms and one leg wound around her and she giggled and struggled to get free. Jethro shook his head, smiling into his coffee. They'd need to leave soon, but for now he was content to just let them be.

xxx

Tony strolled through the halls at school, struggling to keep his head held high, trying to remember that his dad told him the night before that he'd made the right decision to not have sex with Sarah. He bit his lip when several girls crowded near a locker suddenly giggled and broke out into loud murmurings, hidden behind hands with accusatory stares in his direction.

He moved to his locker without a word to anyone and quickly spun the combination to open the locker door. Just as he pulled it open, it slammed shut again and Tony let out a gasp of surprise. His eyes widened when he saw Asher Camden standing over him. Asher was the captain of the Jr. Varsity Football team and all around jackass. He was pompous and liked to waltz around touting his father's wealth and status to anyone who was willing to listen (and some who weren't willing). Tony had never found Asher's company to be particularly pleasurable and today wasn't shaping up to be any better.

"What's up bitch?" Asher sneered. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Tony stared for a moment, then turned back to his locker and set about opening it again. He unlocked the locker and this time, stuck his hand in it so that it wouldn't slam shut again. He hissed when the door slammed on his hand though, slammed once again by the other boy.

"I asked you a question. Or are you too good to talk to me?"

Tony patiently dug through his locker and pulled out the appropriate book for his next class. "I don't know what you want me to say," he finally said, looking up at him.

"You trying to be smart, punk? Huh? You trying to be a little bitch?" Tony's body jerked with the force of the shove to his shoulder that accompanied the words.

Tony blinked. There was nothing he could say to fix this. Asher typically left him alone, but today it seemed Tony was on his list. "No," he finally said quietly. "I'm not."

"I think you are!" Another shove slammed Tony back against the lockers with a loud bang.

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Did I do something to piss you off man?" he finally asked.

"Yeah you did you fuckin' pansy! What the hell is wrong with you? I heard about what you did?"

"Really?" Tony asked mildly. "What is it you heard I did?"

"You bitch, you made Sarah cry!"

Tony took a deep breath and let it out long and loud. "Man…" he said. "I didn't mean to upset her! I wasn't trying to upset her!"

"Then what the hell is your problem man? Seriously?" Asher leaned in close to Tony's face now, his bulky mass towering over the long and lithe Tony. "Are you a homo?"

"What?!" Tony hissed. "No! I don't—why would you even think that? And so what if I was?!"

Asher slammed him up against the lockers again, emitting another loud crash. "What if you were, you fuckin' pussy. You're such a dumbass. Sarah's better off without your pussy-ass."

"Well if this is what happens to all the guys she wants to have screw her then maybe I'm better off without her!" Tony snapped.

The bell rang then and Tony squared his shoulders and looked up at Asher through hooded eyes. "Now if you'll _excuse_ me," Tony sniped. "I have to go to class."

Asher grabbed him by the collar on his shirt and pulled him back one last time, leaning in so close their noses almost touched. "You mark my words, Gibbs. This isn't over yet. No one around here likes any gay boys. And your attitude with me?" he shoved Tony away from him as though he were disgusting and then motioned between himself and Tony with one finger. "You and me. This is not over yet. You mark my words you little bitch. I will have your ass."

"I'm not interested in fighting you," Tony said in a resigned tone. He turned and started to head to class again, but was stopped once more by a hand on his arm.

"That'll make kicking your pussy ass so much easier then, bitch," Asher sneered into his ear. He shoved Tony away again and disappeared into the crowded hall. Tony looked around for a long moment, hugging his books a little tighter, then headed for his next class.

xxx

His hopes for the day to get better were dashed as the day progressed. His lunch was dumped onto the floor, his books were slapped out of his hands. Some of it was regular upper-classmen stuff, but mostly Tony received dirty looks from every popular kid on campus. He wondered if Sarah had spent the entire night on the phone, spreading the awful story about how Tony had slighted her and made her feel so horrible.

He felt horrible too, dang it.

He wandered aimlessly around campus during lunch, trying to avoid heavily populated areas, steadfastly ignoring the rumble in his stomach. Of course—of _course_ today would be the day he forgot his wallet at home. He couldn't replace the lunch that was ruined. He was starving and he had a game today. This was just great.

"Tony?" a thankfully familiar and friendly face called his name quietly and he whipped around. There was Kelly, his beloved big sister, sitting under a tree by herself, book in her lap. It was so rare for them to run into each other—they had lunch during the same period, but often did their own thing and didn't usually see each other.

"Oh, hey Kelly," Tony said quietly, stepping over to his sister.

Sensing all was not well with her brother, Kelly patted the ground next to her. "What's going on?" she asked once he was settled next to her.

"Just a stupid day," Tony mumbled, looking at his lap.

"That's two stupid days in a row for a guy who never has stupid days," Kelly noted. "Did you eat already?"

Tony looked at her sadly. "No," he said quietly. "I don't have a lunch anymore."

"You don't…what happened to it? You brought it with you—I watched you pack it!"

"I really don't want to talk about it," Tony said breathlessly, just barely holding onto his emotions.

Kelly broke her sandwich in half and passed a piece of it to Tony. "Does it have anything to do with Sarah?" she asked in a low voice.

Tony's gaze shot up and he looked at her in horror. He hadn't talked to Kelly about what happened yet. "What? How did you? What did you hear?" he was horrified. Did the whole school know about it?!

"I heard some of the really popular kids talking about Sarah getting dumped. I figured that probably contributed to your bad day yesterday. I didn't want to push though. I figured you'd talk to me if you wanted to," she picked her pinky nail as she spoke without looking at Tony.

Tony let out a shaky breath, horrified that he felt tears stinging his eyes. He pressed his eyes closed and took off his glasses, shoving the heels of his hands into his eye sockets and pressing firmly. "I didn't break up with her," he whispered. "She broke up with me."

Kelly chewed on a bite of her sandwich thoughtfully for a long moment then slurped on her carton of milk with the straw in it. "Why'd she break up with you?" she asked curiously. "You two looked like you were one step away from a wedding altar. What happened?"

Tony snorted and let out a choked laugh that almost sounded like a sob. "Because," he hissed, "I wouldn't have sex with her. I wouldn't screw her so she dumped me. And ya know what?" Tony was getting angrier with every word he spoke. "I don't even care! The longer today gets the more I'm glad I don't date her anymore, and the more it's making me wonder why I ever dated her in the first place!"

"Hey Homo!" a snarky voice from across the picnic area shouted. Tony's face deepened to a bright crimson. "Keep it down! Some of us are trying to enjoy our relationships and our lunches. You over there whining like a little bitch is making me want to throw up!"

Kelly shot to her feet and plowing towards the kid—not Asher this time, but one of the jock's buddies—and Tony shot after her, grabbing her arm to keep her from ripping the guy's face off. "You kiss off, jerk!" she shouted.

"Ohhhh got your big bad sister to fight your battles for you, eh Homo? Well I guess that's appropriate," the guy said laughingly, looking at his crowd of followers swooning over his every word, "she's tougher than you are anyway."

Kelly looked like she seriously wanted to rip the guy's head off, but she whipped around on Tony instead. Her features were angry and for a minute, Tony thought she was mad at him. "C'mon Tony," she snapped. "These rich creeps are killing my appetite. We don't need to associate with the likes of _them_."

"Ha," the guy—behind her now—sneered, "As if _you'd_ be welcome to hang around with the likes of _us_."

Kelly stopped and turned around once more. "I would rather hang out with the fleas on your mangy dog than to hang around with a bunch of stuck up rats like you. At least your dog's fleas have some class."

Without another word she turned and stormed off, grabbing Tony by the wrist and dragging him with her. As they headed inside, Tony was grateful to know that his sister at least believed in him and sided with him, but he couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't just made his situation a whole lot worse.

xxx

Kelly rolled her eyes as the school announcements droned on and on. Girls Volleyball game tomorrow morning (seriously? Who wants to get out of bed for a game on a Saturday?!). Boys Soccer game today after school. Pep Rally in the gym before the Varsity Football game next Friday. Career advisors from a variety of schools and offices would be available to meet with Senior classmen during the lunch period on Monday.

At this last announcement Kelly's ears perked up. Kelly was a senior this year and it was already late March. She hadn't decided where she was going to go to school or if she was going to go to school or what she wanted to do. Between Varsity Cheerleading, her job as a cashier at the neighborhood grocery store, plus all of her classes (why, oh why had she overloaded her schedule this year?), Kelly was functioning primarily on a day to day basis. It wasn't that she didn't want to do something different, she just hadn't given herself time to really think about it.

Maybe going to this career advisor thingy would help her get her head in the game and figure out what the heck she wanted to do.

xxx

Down the hall in another classroom, Tony was tuning out the announcements altogether. He knew the soccer game was this afternoon. He was the team captain for the Junior Varsity soccer team. And all the other announcements sounded like they didn't apply to him so he just opened his book and continued working on his homework. He, like his sister, was a bit over-extended this year. He'd just gotten a job as a busboy at the local pizza parlor several weeks ago. He'd also started studying Driver's Education. Between all of that and the soccer, basketball, swim team and track teams that he was part of…sometimes he wondered when he was supposed to sleep. He had to be at the pool at 0500 for practice, had to stay afterschool for practice for whichever sport was in season, plus now he had the job…

Tony spent most of his lunch and homeroom periods doing homework. It was the only way he stayed caught up. He was never actually ahead. But he stayed caught up. Most of the time. Today had been a rare situation when he didn't work on homework and didn't stick close to the walls where no one would notice him. He and Kelly wandered aimlessly around campus for most of their lunch period, giving him a chance to catch her up on everything that had happened—both between him and Sarah and also between him and seemingly every jock on campus this morning.

He let out a tired sigh and kept working. He and his daddy had made an agreement when he got the job that Tony could work as long as his grades didn't suffer. His grades were fine; HE was the one who was suffering. Maybe next year he'd back off some of the sports or something. He didn't particularly enjoy the swim team or the track team and he wasn't the best or fastest with either. Maybe next year he'd just stick with soccer and basketball. Basketball was his favorite sport and he'd heard on more than one occasion for several years running now, that he had the potential to go all the way to the pros. He could make it in the big time, despite his lack of substantial height. He'd hit a growth spurt the year before, finally shooting him up close to 6 feet tall. At least now the other players didn't completely tower over him.

Tony spared one moment to think about the threat Asher had made to him earlier in the day. He wondered briefly when the attack would come and from whom and in front of whom. It didn't really matter. He'd get a little roughed up and that'd be that. It would all blow over. It wasn't the first time someone had called him something unkind or threatened to hurt him.

He'd just have to stay on his guard. With that last thought, the bell rang and Tony gathered his things, heading for the locker room.

xxx

"Hey Boss?" Jethro glanced at the clock on his desk. It was just about 3:30. Tony's game was at 4:30. He had enough time to make it to the school, but he needed to leave soon. Unfortunately, the team had caught a case earlier in the day. Jethro was almost reluctant to even ask, but after the hard day Tony'd had yesterday, he felt like he should at least attempt to be there for his boy today.

"Yes Gibbs?"

"I um...I hate to even bring this up, but Tony's got a game today and—"

"What time is his game?" Hetty asked without looking up from the file.

Jethro glanced at the clock again. "His game starts in an hour. At the school."

Hetty took a deep breath and looked at her own clock. She looked at Jethro. "Alright," she said. "I need you back here as soon as it's over though."

Jethro picked up his keys. "Thanks Hetty. Back soon!" he hurried for the door without looking back.

xxx

Because Jethro and Kelly spent so much time at the soccer field and basketball courts, they'd all but claimed permanent seats for the various sporting events they attended to watch Tony. Kelly was waiting in their spot, saving Jethro a seat when the kids' daddy arrived. He climbed the bleachers, taking care to not trip on his trench coat and settled down next to his daughter. He tossed her a box of cracker jacks and winked at Kelly. "Hiya Kells," he said.

"Hi Daddy!" she leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. "How is your day?"

"Eh…got a big case at work. Hetty let me off to come to the game though."

"That was nice of her. Tony will be glad to see you!"

Jethro smiled. "I'm glad to see you guys too. Missed you today. Have you had a good day?"

Kelly nodded. "My day has been ok, but Tony…" she shrugged sadly. "Tony isn't having a good day."

"Why not?" Jethro glanced at Kelly. He hadn't spoken to his daughter about what his son had divulged to him in the basement the night before.

Kelly looked at him. "Did he not tell you what happened? That Sarah broke up with him?"

Jethro nodded. "He did. He was worried there might be some backlash from it."

"That's putting it mildly," Kelly said matter-of-factly. "The whole school is talking about it. Only when Sarah told everyone what happened? She twisted the story all up. Tony's been getting bullied and threatened all day long for making Sarah cry. He's trying to hide it, but I think he's really upset about it. Pisses me off, Daddy. He's a good guy—why would people be like this?"

Jethro shook his head. "Dunno," he said grimly. "When did you talk to him last?"

"Lunch," Kelly said sadly. "He was so down. Someone knocked his food on the floor so he didn't even have his lunch. I gave him half of my food though, so he at least ate something. He was really upset."

"Well maybe this weekend we can cheer him up," Jethro said. He wanted, more than anything, for him to get back to work and hear that the team cracked the case while he was gone. He needed to have the weekend off to be with his kids. After Shannon died, their relationships had all been very shaky. Things were getting better all the time, but when things got hard, it was still difficult for Tony to go to Jethro. When Tony was a small boy, Jethro was the only one he'd wanted. Now…that was not always the case. It made Jethro sad.

xxx

"Alright team, we're gonna go out there, and we're gonna have an unstoppable defense, and we're going to have a powerhouse offense, and we're going to win this game!" Coach Rex said enthusiastically. The soccer team was surrounding the overweight, balding, middle-aged coach. They were shouting and cheering in agreement, powering up for a win that would take them straight to the semi-finals. The coach started to sing the school fight song and all the boys joined in. He pushed and shoved his way through the crowd and led the boys out of the locker room and down towards the stadium.

As Tony headed out the door, bringing up the rear of the team, someone stepped out of the bank of lockers and grabbed his arm. Tony's eyes widened when he saw it was Asher, the jackass on the JV football team, the one who'd threatened him earlier in the day. Tony watched with a fleeting glance as the door closed behind the last of his team members, leaving him alone in the locker room with this guy.

Asher was just an inch or so taller than Tony, but what he lacked in height he made up for in muscle mass. As a star of the junior football team, Asher was biding his time until he was old enough to play on the varsity team. Tony stared at Asher and did not speak.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Why, it looks like a homo in the locker room! Hasn't anyone explained to you, that all of the pussies change in the girls' locker room?" he sneered.

"Is 'pussy' your favorite word?" Tony asked rhetorically. He already knew he was going to get his ass kicked. He figured he might as well do something to warrant it, even though he knew the reason he would take the beating was clear. He would get pounded because he'd hurt Sarah. He'd rejected her and made her cry, and that was Tony's crime.

Asher slammed Tony up against the cinderblock wall with a thump so solid his teeth clicked. He closed his eyes when his lungs spasmed slightly, some of the air forced out of them. Before he could look up or speak, barely before he could register the hand on his shoulder holding him in place, a heavy, well-placed right hook caught Tony right across the mouth, busting his lip and splitting it wide open. His head snapped to the right and he closed his eyes, feeling it begin to swell immediately.

He'd barely gotten a deep breath in when his body was slammed back into the wall again. The next blow hit his nose and snapped his head back, cracking it painfully against the block wall and he flinched when he heard his nose crunch. Christ, this guy just broke his nose. Instantly, Tony's sinuses swelled and blood poured from his nose and mouth. He spit weakly, struggling to hang onto his consciousness, feeling the blood drip down his chin onto his jersey.

"You sonofabitch," Asher hissed in his ear. "You worthless piece of shit bastard." He stepped in close and delivered a bone rattling upper cut to Tony's abdomen.

A weak whine escaped Tony's lips as the air was so violently forced from his body. He wrapped his arms around his middle and doubled over. Just as he leaned forward, Asher's knee came up, hitting him brutally in the groin. Fire erupted throughout Tony's entire body and he gasped in pain as a wave of nausea washed over him. He dropped pitifully to his knees, keeling over forward. He had the fleeting thought that it was good he'd put contact lenses in for the game or else his glasses would be busted to smithereens.

Tony crumbled to the ground in a pitiful heap. He was vaguely aware that he wasn't dead…his entire body screamed in pain. Just when he thought he could almost get his breath back, a large foot slammed brutally into his stomach, forcing the air out again. Tony tried to curl in on himself tighter, but his whole body hurt. He wondered if Asher was going to kill him. The foot struck again, in his groin once more bringing tears to his eyes.

"No need to protect those family jewels, pussy," Asher sneered. "It's not like you're ever going to use those nuts for anything. Assuming there's anything actually in there. Haha, instead of family jewels, you probably only have a couple of pebbles. You bitch. You worthless piece of shit." Asher spit on him. "Learn your lesson well asshole. Next time I won't be so nice to you."

Tony wasn't sure he was even still fully conscious, but he thought he heard the sound of the locker room door opening and then slamming shut. He thought he heard the slide lock on the locker room door engage.

Perhaps now he could die in peace.

xxx

Jethro and Kelly rose with the crowds, cheering for their boy as the players rushed out onto the field. As they clapped and cheered, however, Kelly's movements slowed. Her eyes scanned the field looking for number 17. She squinted as she stared at the crowd of blue and lime green jerseys crowding near the bench. Where the heck was Tony?

"Daddy," Kelly stopped clapping now and grabbed her Dad's arm. "Daddy stop. Tony's not out there."

Jethro stopped cheering too and looked carefully at the little blue sea of soccer players. "He's number 17, right?" Jethro clarified, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah. He's not out there. Where could he be Daddy?"

"Ok, calm down. Did he say anything about missing the game today?" As if that would ever happen. He knew Tony would play with a broken leg if he thought his team needed him.

Kelly shook her head. "No! He told me he'd see me afterwards and that he was excited about the game. This is the game that decides if the team goes on to the semi-finals! He wouldn't miss this one!"

Jethro looked at Kelly for a long moment. His gut was churning.

"People were threatening him all day long today," Kelly murmured, looking at the field with a sick expression. "Do you think he's ok Daddy?" she looked up at Jethro fearfully.

"I think I should go see if we can find him," Jethro said quietly.

"We should start in the locker room. Can I come with you and wait outside? I'm not allowed in the boys' locker room, but…"

"Yeah, Kelly," Jethro nodded. "C'mon. Let's go find our boy."

xxx

Kelly led the way through the deserted halls to the gym. They quickly crossed the floor, every step of the way had Jethro wishing that Tony had a working cell phone. He made a mental note to make sure Tony got a new phone before the weekend was out. Kelly pointed at the door to the locker room.

Jethro stepped up to the door and frowned when he saw the slide lock was engaged. That meant anyone who was inside the locker room would be unable to leave if the door was locked in such a way. He quickly slid the lock back and pushed the door open. The federal agent in him had his right hand reaching for his side arm, not knowing what to expect. In the back corner of the room, near the showers, Jethro saw a flash of blue.

Tony was lying on his side in a heap on the floor, his knees tucked up close to his chest, one arm wrapped around his midsection, the other one splayed limply on the floor.

"Jesus! Tony!" Jethro cried as he rushed forward.

Tony's eyes were closed and his glasses were missing. Jethro knew his glasses were likely in his locker because he never wore them when he was playing a game. Jethro reached out gently and wrapped two fingers around Tony's wrist, carefully and gently checking his pulse. He let out a long breath when he felt the steady thumping beneath the surface of the skin. He ran a gentle hand over Tony's hair, drawing a whimper from Tony's still form.

"Easy Tony," Jethro murmured. "You with me?" He moved carefully, shifting Tony slowly, drawing groans of protest from his boy. He gently rolled Tony to his back, cradling his neck to support it as he moved, still not knowing what happened. He couldn't stop the gasp that slipped from his lips when he took in the sight of Tony's bloody, bruised and swollen face. "My God," he whispered.

Tony shifted ever so slightly, rolling his head slightly from side to side as though trying to clear it and his eyelids fluttered. His eyes cracked open and revealed unfocused, foggy looking slits.

"You with me Tony? Can you hear me son?"

"D-dad?" he croaked. His lips were swollen, his nose was swollen, both of his eyes were blackening. It was obvious his nose was broken.

"Yeah…yeah hey Tony. Hey you ok? What happened?"

"Hurts," Tony whispered. His eyes dropped shut tiredly.

"Noooo, no no no," Jethro shook Tony's shoulder carefully, then cupped Tony's chin lightly and shook it too. "Stay with me, kiddo. C'mon. Snap out of it. Tell me what happened."

Tony's eyes stayed closed for several long moments before he slowly forced them open again. "D-des'rved it," he mumbled.

"Can you sit up? Can I help you sit up? Are you dizzy? Why do you think you deserved this? No one deserves this," Jethro rambled. Except maybe the sonofabitch who did this. Jethro might take pleasure in making sure the person got what they deserved, too.

Tony started to move to sit up, but quickly dropped back and hugged his midsection with a groan. Jethro narrowed his eyes as he watched Tony carefully. "Tony I'm going to lift your shirt to look at your stomach. I don't want to hurt you. If it hurts, tell me ok?"

"Mmm," Tony nodded, his eyes dropping shut again.

Jethro carefully lifted Tony's shirt and his eyes widened. "Holy shit," he breathed. He touched Tony's stomach carefully, pressing on it lightly, and Tony let out a pitiful whine. "Ok," Jethro whispered. "Ok. We're going to go."

"Th 'game…what about…the game?" Tony mumbled, still only half-conscious.

"We'll figure it out later, son. You can't play right now. We need to take you and get you checked. We have to go to the ER."

"N-no," Tony whispered. "No hos'pit'l," he slurred. "Ducky. Ducky please, Daddy."

Jethro winced in sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Tony," he said sincerely. "But you really need to go to the hospital. I need to make sure you don't have any internal bleeding in your stomach. Ducky can't test for that. We can call him and have him meet us, but we have to go to the hospital."

Tony looked at his Daddy blearily for a long moment. "Ok," he whispered. "Ok."

"I'm gonna tell Kelly what's going on? Do you think you can walk? I don't think you should move. Just stay still Tony. Kelly's just outside. Just hold on ok?" Jethro stood up and moved towards the door. He pulled it open and was surprised to see Kelly heading back across the gym floor, this time with an a man in tow.

"Daddy! I heard you asking Tony if he's ok. This is Mr. Mershon. The principal. He's the only person I could find to help!"

"Good work Kelly," Jethro praised his daughter before turning to the principal and sticking out his hand. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I'm Tony and Kelly Gibbs' father."

"Nice to meet you. What seems to be the problem?"

Jethro's face darkened. "Come with me," it came out more as an order than a request.

He led the way back into the locker room and Kelly tagged along this time, desperate to know what happened to her brother. She gasped when she saw him lying in the floor, right where Jethro left him, his eyes closed. "Tony!" she shrieked. She all but pounced him, taking care though, not to injure him further.

Tony's eyes slowly slid open, but his gaze was unfocused.

"I'll call for an ambulance," the principal said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Tony? Tony it's Kelly, are you awake?"

Tony nodded slowly. His eyes were heavy but still open…he hadn't spoken.

"Tony who did this to you?" Kelly asked. "Who was it?"

"D'ser-ved it," he whispered. "M-my fault."

"Oh…Tony no, no you didn't!" She leaned over, putting her lips close to her brother's ear. "Did Asher do this? Was he the one who did it Tony? Did he hurt you?"

"Ambulance is on the way," Mr. Mershon said, rushing back up.

Jethro was on the phone with Hetty, letting her know they had to take Tony to the hospital and he didn't know when he'd be back. When he got off the phone he turned to Kelly, still kneeling by Tony's head. Tony's eyes were thankfully open now and he was looking a bit more coherent, but Jethro was still worried.

"Has he said who did this to him? I can assure you he will receive the strongest punishment I can think of," Mr. Mershon promised Jethro.

Tony shifted uncomfortably and groaned. There was a rustling sound and then the doors burst open and two EMTs were in the room. The school always had EMTs on site during game days to provide immediate attention if needed, so they'd been close by when the principal's call came in. "Ohhhh man, looks like you're pretty roughed up," the first guy, the one on Tony's right said. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Tony," Tony mumbled.

"Hey Tony, my name is Ryan," the paramedic smiled gently. "We're gonna help you ok?"

"Yeah," Tony whispered. His eyes dropped shut again and he forced them back open. "W-where's…m'dad?" his eyes rolled back in his head and he blinked sluggishly.

"Your dad is right here," Ryan said, motioning for Jethro to come closer. Jethro knelt down on Tony's other side and looked at Ryan urgently for a moment before turning his attention to Tony.

"Hey son," Jethro said quietly, brushing his fingers over Tony's cheek. "I'm right here," he took Tony's hand gently in his own and patted the back of it reassuringly and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Ok Tony, I'm going to shine a light in your eyes," Ryan said. "I need to check to see if you have a concussion. Have you ever had a concussion?"

"Yeah," Tony sighed. "Couple of 'em."

Ryan looked at Gibbs questioningly. "I'll explain later," Jethro muttered.

Pulling out his flashlight, Ryan placed his other hand gently on Tony's forehead, his thumb hovering lightly over Tony's eyelid. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked. It was obvious Tony had gotten beat up but he wanted to keep Tony talking, and was also surreptitiously checking the boy's memory.

Tony winced when the bright lights shone in his eyes and groaned softly before finally answering, "Got…beat up…"

"Can you say who did it?" Ryan asked carefully, shooting a glance at Jethro.

"Jus'…some…some kid," Tony whispered. "I…I deserved…what I…got…"

"Tony," Jethro leaned in close to his face. "Tony who did this? Do you know them?"

"Yeah," Tony mumbled, staring blearily up at his dad. "I know 'em. But…'m not tellin' you who it is…you'll hunt 'em down…" a faint smile drifted across his face.

Jethro couldn't help it: he chuckled. "Yeah," he nodded. "I will. Rest now," he pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead. "I've got your six, son. No one else is going to hurt you."

"Don't go to sleep Tony," Ryan coached. "Need ya to stay awake." He pulled Tony's shirt up and his eyes widened at the bruising already forming on Tony's stomach. "What did this person hit you in the stomach with Tony?"

"Used…fist…foot…kicked me couple'a times…stomach…balls…" Tony was too exhausted and in too much pain to be embarrassed about something so private.

"I will let the ER doctor know that he needs to check everything," Ryan quietly assured Jethro. He glanced over his shoulder, "Hey Wayne! Got a board for me?"

The other EMT brought a back board over. "Wait," Tony mumbled, reaching his hand up to touch Ryan's arm. "I can…make it…if you help me…please…hate being carried…"

Ryan looked at Tony for a long moment, before glancing at Jethro, who nodded. "Grab the gurney. Tony we'll help you sit up and move to the gurney, but you're in no shape to walk outta here. Do we have a deal?"

"Can…my dad come?"

"Absolutely."

Jethro turned around to Kelly and pulled out his car keys. "Honey, will you bring the car and meet me at—" he glanced over his shoulder at the EMTs who were preparing to help Tony up, "Which hospital?"

"Do you have a preference?"

"George Washington," Jethro said.

"That's where we'll go. Wayne's driving," Ryan affirmed and Wayne nodded in agreement.

Jethro turned back to Kelly. "Meet me in the ER waiting room at George Washington hospital ok? I'm going to call Hetty and let her know what's going on and see if we can get Ducky here too. I don't want you to be alone while we wait," he was troubled, hating being forced to choose between his kids. He knew Kelly was scared and worried too.

Kelly, who'd had her license for just over a year now, nodded and took the keys from Jethro. "I'll meet you there Daddy. I'm fine—I'll be ok. I'll see you there—but you gotta stay with Tony."

Jethro kissed Kelly on the forehead and she turned to Tony. Ryan and Wayne were slowly helping him up off the floor and his face was twisted in pain and he was groaning loudly, his breath hitching. Kelly cupped Tony's face in her hands and looked at him seriously. "No scaring Daddy," she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She kissed his forehead. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Ok…Kelly," Tony panted. "No…scaring…Daddy," he smiled. "Don't drive…crazy."

Mr. Mershon stood by the door, his hands clasped in front of him. It was rare to see any violence on his campus. Even rarer to see severe violence and in his entire tenure he'd never had to call an ambulance for a student. "What…what would you like me to do?"

"Stay here and wait for the police," Jethro said bluntly. "My boss called a unit in to work the scene."

"Scene?" Mershon asked weakly.

Jethro turned on him and rose to his full height. "Yes. Scene. As in, 'crime scene.' I am going to get to the bottom of who did this. And when I find out who it is, I'm going to have their ass for lunch."

TBC…


	3. Not Your Fault

**Author's Note**: Tony's going to get a bit of a break after this…we're actually going to turn our attention to Miss Kelly pretty soon as she's going to have some story of her own to share! :)

_Special thanks to my horribly overworked and underpaid beta reader (seriously, I pay peanuts lol—and Goats is allergic to nuts hahaha), Gotgoats. You rock dude lol :)_

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 3: Not Your Fault**

Hetty was sitting at the office, reviewing the information they had collected earlier at the crime scene when her cell phone rang. She almost didn't want to answer it; her gut had been churning all afternoon. She glanced at the phone and flipped it open. Jethro was calling.

"Hi Gibbs," she said absently, still reviewing the documents in front of her.

"_Boss I have a situation here,"_ Jethro said breathlessly.

Hetty could hear the stress in her agent's voice and pulled her attention away from the case and focused on what Jethro was telling her. "What's wrong?"

"_It's…Tony got…we have to go to the hospital,"_ Jethro was babbling. _"He's…he's hurt…and…and I don't even know what all is—"_

"Jethro." Hetty's calm voice pulled Jethro out of his hysteria.

"_Yes Boss,"_ Jethro mumbled.

"Breathe. Now. What happened?"

"_He…someone hurt him…they beat him up…God they beat him within an inch of his life…it's horrible!"_

"Which hospital are you heading to?"

"_I don't even know,"_ Jethro said. _"I haven't…the EMTs are still with him…I don't know."_

"Ok you need to get off of the phone and go tend to Tony. Call me back once you know which hospital you are going to and Mike and I will come meet you. We're still waiting on Leon to get back from Quantico with the information anyway. We're in a holding pattern."

"_I'll call you,"_ Jethro whispered. _"Sorry Boss. I know we have a case and—"_

"Take care of your kids, my dear," Hetty said. "I will let the Director know where you are and we will join you as quickly as we can."

xxx

An hour after leaving the school in back of an ambulance, Tony found himself sitting slumped pitifully on a gurney in a tiny little treatment room. He held a blue ice pack lightly over his nose and mouth, covering most of his face. It was impossible to breathe through his nose and it hurt to move his mouth to talk thanks to the bruise on his jaw and the cut on his lip. He wanted to lie down but his body hurt so badly he didn't think he'd be able to stand it and the added pressure of lying down just might be all that was needed to make his head explode. His thoughts were slightly sluggish and Tony knew at the very least he had a mild concussion. He blinked blearily, trying to get his eyes to focus on his dad who was pacing silently in front of the curtain.

He wasn't sure if his dad was mad at him or not…he didn't think he'd done anything to make him angry, but he sure looked pissed off.

Tony slowly lowered the ice pack and wiggled his face a bit, testing how far he could move without it hurting. He winced grimly. Apparently not very far. "Daddy?" he sounded like he had a cold.

Jethro turned to face him. "Yeah Tony? Hey, Dr. Singer said you need to keep that pack on your face son," his voice sounded so gentle, a total juxtaposition to his facial expression.

"Are you…mad?" his voice was quiet. His eyes suddenly dropped shut and when he forced them back open, his dad was standing right over him with his hands on his shoulders.

"With me?" Jethro asked quietly.

Tony nodded silently and didn't argue as Jethro gently raised Tony's hand still holding the ice pack back to his nose. "Gotta keep that covered son," he said quietly. "At least 'til the doctor comes back."

Tony stared at his dad and didn't answer. He was waiting for Jethro to remember Tony had asked a question.

Jethro sank down to sit on the gurney beside Tony and draped an arm around his shoulders gently but securely. "This ok?" he asked. At Tony's nod, he let out a long breath. "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry this happened to you. I'm angry some little bastard hurt you. But no, Tony, I am not angry at you. Not at all."

Tony moved the ice pack away slightly. "My fault," he mumbled.

"It's not your fault Tony," Jethro sighed. "It's Sarah's fault; whoever did this to you? It's their fault. It's not your fault. You listened to your gut and made the best decision you had with the information you were provided with. Nothing that happened here was your fault. I do wish that you'd told someone you were being threatened, though."

Tony stared at his dad over the top of the ice pack for a long moment before sighing and nodding slightly. He probably should have told someone, but who would he have told? And what would they have done about it?

"You sure you won't tell me who did it?" Jethro asked.

"Yeah," Tony grunted. "Doesn't matter who did it."

Jethro tightened his arm around Tony's shoulders and leaned his cheek on the top of Tony's head. "Matters to me, Tony," he said quietly. "I want to know you're safe. I worry about you, kiddo."

Tony shifted slightly and groaned when it hurt. He leaned heavier on his daddy and let out a pitiful sigh. "Hurts," he whispered.

"Head?" Jethro asked. They were waiting on the doctor to come back and let them know when Tony would have scans done on his torso.

"Everything," Tony mumbled. He lowered his hand, letting the ice pack land on his bruised groin.

The curtain jerked back and the Doctor smiled kindly at the pair. "How ya holdin' up, big guy?" he asked. His voice was loud and booming—big personality to go with a big guy. But he seemed to be extremely gentle; Tony liked him.

"Says everything hurts," Jethro told him.

"After the beating you took, I'm not at all surprised," Dr. Singer said sympathetically. "Well the good news is we can take you for x-ray. Hopefully by the time we're finished there we can move on to the CT Scan. I want to make sure you aren't experiencing any internal bleeding. You have a really severe bruise on your abdomen."

"Don't think I have any bleeding anywhere except my nose," Tony mumbled, "and you packed it up good. Why can't I go home yet?"

Dr. Singer stopped and looked at Tony. "I don't know if you'll be able to go home tonight or not, Tony," he said gently. "I want to see what the scans say first. But if you're not experiencing internal bleeding and depending on how your concussion is doing then I _might_ let you go home. Nothing definite yet. We'll decide in a bit ok?"

At this, Tony flopped back dramatically on the gurney, only to suddenly roll to his side and clap a hand over his mouth and look around desperately. A basin was shoved under his chin just as he brought up the contents of his stomach—which, after several puking events since his arrival, was reduced to bile and water. He was fairly certain his chest was going to cave in and he struggled to catch his breath. He was thrown even more off balance when Dr. Singer began to move his bed—he could barely breathe and NOW they wanted to do x-rays. He lifted the ice pack again and this time dropped it over his face. He couldn't stand to watch the scenery fly by. He really didn't want to get sick again.

More than anything though, he really just wanted to go home.

xxx

While Tony was back in the treatment room getting fixed up, Kelly was sitting nervously in the waiting room. She looked around the crowded room slightly nervously, wondering where the hospital would put all of these people. Some people were obviously ill, others were injured in some form or fashion, still others sat pitifully in the hard plastic chairs with undisclosed ailments which rendered them absolutely pitiful looking.

"Kelly!" she heard Mike's familiar voice call her name and she looked up in surprise to see Hetty and Mike approaching her with Ducky in tow. She had no idea where Tony was back in the back and had lost track of time, knowing only that it was not yet dark out. "Hello Sweetheart," Hetty smiled at her, gathering her into a hug.

Ever since Grandma went all psycho on Tony after mom died and they'd pretty much kicked her out of the family for what she done, Hetty had stepped up as a pseudo-grandmother to the two Gibbs children and they loved her dearly.

"How is Tony, darling?" Hetty asked quietly.

Kelly shrugged her shoulders nervously and glanced around. "Um…I'm uh…I don't know…I haven't seen Daddy since we got here. I thought maybe he'd come out with an update by now but he hasn't. So I'm hoping no news is good news."

"Ducky is going to go back and check on everyone and he will bring us an update I'm sure," Mike said gently, running a hand over Kelly's hair.

xxx

Ducky spoke with the guard and once he explained he was Tony's doctor was granted access to the catacombs of the Emergency Department. He stopped at a nurse's station and was given the location of the cubicle Tony was currently being housed in. He stopped just inside the curtain when he realized there was no one there. Returning to the nurse's station, he was informed that Tony was having some scans and should be returning soon.

It was not long at all when Tony's bed was rolled back to the room with Jethro right by his son's side.

Tony's eyes were closed and Ducky's breath caught in his throat when he saw how badly beaten he was. He listlessly held an ice pack to his face and hugged another one to his abdomen. Jethro had his hand on Tony's ankle and the expression on his face dared anyone to mess with them.

"Hello Jethro, Anthony," Ducky said, forcing his voice to sound carefree and easy.

"Hey Duck," Jethro said. Tony didn't answer.

"My dear boys, what on earth has befallen young Anthony? Henrietta said that he's been beaten?"

"Someone got him in the locker room before the soccer game today," Jethro said quietly. "He's pretty beat up. Got his face, broke his nose, got his stomach and his um…" Jethro inconspicuously pointed at his groin with a grim face.

"Have you checked him for internal injuries?!" Ducky quickly spun on the doctor.

Dr. Singer smiled. "Just returning from the x-ray and CT scan now, aren't we Tony?"

Tony didn't move other than to offer a weak thumbs up.

"He's in a lot of pain, Duck," Jethro told his friend. "They're reluctant to give him too many painkillers because of the concussion, but he's really hurting."

"Are you going to keep him overnight?" Ducky asked Dr. Singer.

"I haven't decided for sure yet," Dr. Singer said noncommittally.

Tony moved the ice pack away from his face, blinking in the brightly lit cubicle. God his head hurt. "Wanna go home," he mumbled pitifully before sliding the ice pack back over his face.

"It would surely be helpful for Tony's father if you could go ahead and make that determination," Ducky said. "He is a single father of two teenagers and will need to coordinate with his daughter what her plans will be should you decide to keep Tony overnight."

"Well, figuring we don't let people spend the night with our patients, I think it's pretty clear that she can go home and tomorrow they can both return if Tony ends up staying the night," Dr. Singer said, working on the chart notes while he spoke.

The silence that filled the room eventually forced the doctor to draw pause and look around. "What?" he asked innocently.

Ducky took a step back to clear the path between Jethro and the doctor. Jethro stepped right up to Dr. Singer with an unreadable look on his face. "I'm not leaving him alone," Jethro said seriously. "If he stays I stay. End of story."

"Dad…" Tony groaned.

"Yeah son?" Jethro quickly turned back to Tony.

Tony slid the ice pack off of his face again. "Don't…don't fight," he whispered. "Please?"

Jethro picked the ice pack up and gently moved it back over his boy's face. "Don't worry about me," he smiled. "You just rest. Leave everything to me."

"Ugh," Tony groaned softly. "Yeah ok," he whispered.

Jethro ruffled Tony's hair affectionately. "Attaboy," he praised. He turned back to the doctor. "As I was saying. I'm not leaving him."

Dr. Singer turned and faced him. "Look, Mr. Gibbs…Tony is not in that bad of shape. He has a serious concussion and we're waiting for confirmation that the blows he sustained to his abdomen have just resulted in bruising."

"We are in the process of ruling out internal injuries," Gibbs snapped. "He was attacked this afternoon, he feels traumatized, he's in a great deal of pain and I am not leaving him if he stays overnight!"

Dr. Singer looked at Ducky, hoping for someone in his corner, but was met by the same steely gaze that Jethro was sending his way. "It's standard operating procedure," Dr. Singer said weakly. "When we have patients stay overnight we don't usually allow people to stay here with them…"

Jethro crossed his arms, his features darkening.

"The alternative I suppose," Ducky said coolly, "is that you can simply release him into my care and we can take him home. However, if we do that and something happens, I do hope you realize we would hold you accountable."

Dr. Singer turned and faced Ducky directly. "Are you threatening me, Dr. Mallard?" he asked.

Ducky shook his head. "Oh no sir, not at all," he said kindly, but firmly. "I just would like for you to understand that making such a careless call when the boy is obviously in bad enough shape to warrant an overnight stay at the least, simply because you cannot find it in yourself to accommodate his father seems…unprofessional. And if that is the decision you select to make, and if something happens because you elected to make that decision, then I believe any fault would, in fact, lie at your feet, given your Hippocratic oath. Am I incorrect?"

The nurse chose that moment to pull back the curtain, oblivious to the tension in the room. "Dr. Singer? The scans are back." She quickly passed the films and manila envelope over to him and disappeared, pulling the curtain closed behind her.

Dr. Singer made quick work of going over the information from the scans. Tony's liver was bruised, he had a grade two concussion, and the 9th rib on his right side was cracked. No wonder the poor kid was so miserable. Scans of Tony's groin thankfully showed no ruptures. There would be some bruising, but that injury was congruent with a playground brawl, as it were.

"Ok," he said finally, once he was finished with his task. "Tony is actually in decent shape. His scans are showing that he does have some minor bruising to his liver, and he does have a cracked rib in that same area. That explains why he's in so much pain—those injuries are both tremendously painful. His testicles are both fine—they will have some bruising, but I don't see any evidence of ruptures. This is good if he plans to have children one day."

Tony slid the ice pack away from his face and stared up at his dad. "Is he kidding," he moaned. "Tell me he's kidding."

"Tony has a grade two concussion. We should see the effects of it begin to diminish over the next 24 hours or so. In that mean time though, he may experience some confusion, pain and discomfort, blurred vision…that sort of thing. If he suddenly experiences a spike in his pain or if he suddenly becomes less coherent, then we will pursue further treatment options, but the best thing for him right now with the injuries he's sustained is going to be some good, quiet rest."

"So will he be going home tonight or do you think he'd be better off to stay here?"

"Well, given his history of head injuries, I'd feel better if he stayed here overnight," Dr. Singer said. "Someone will be waking him every two to three hours to perform lucidity checks."

"I'd feel better about that too," Jethro said. "How long will it be before you move him?"

"We'll get him moved as soon as the room is ready," Dr. Singer said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll send a nurse back with all of the information as to what his room number will be and such. You can meet us up there once we get him settled."

"I'll be accompanying him," Jethro said. He turned to Ducky. "Kelly is in the waiting room, Duck. Would you mind to go let her know what is going on?"

"Not at all Jethro. Once you have the room number you can just ring one of our cells to let us know where to go."

Jethro nodded. "Sounds good."

xxx

Tony awoke sometime later to the sounds of two people arguing. He didn't know where in the hospital he was, wasn't really sure for a moment if he was even still in the hospital. The two people arguing were trying to keep their voices low, but it was obvious by their snappish tones that they were extremely angry with each other. After listening for another moment, Tony quickly determined that one of the angry people was his dad. He knew his dad was angry, but he couldn't figure out who was on the receiving end of his wrath. He was careful to stay still and listen, trying to piece together what was going on.

"I'm not leaving him," Jethro snapped. "What part of that don't you people understand?! He's a kid. He's injured. He had the shit beat out of him at school—where he should be safe. I'm _not_ leaving him."

"Agent Gibbs I understand that you are concerned for your son. However, hospital policy dictates that for children over the age of twelve who are not in the intensive care unit—"

Tony gasped and forced himself upright in the bed as panic washed over him when he realized what was going on. There was a cool washcloth someone had draped over his eyes and now it fell to his lap. "W-what?" he stammered. He couldn't explain this sudden and paralyzing fear that gripped him. "D-Daddy? Daddy don't leave me—please…I'll be good…I don't mean to be a bother…please…please Daddy don't leave me," he began pleading. His voice was barely audible, but it stopped Jethro and the doctor in their tracks.

"I hope you're proud of yourself. He was abandoned when he was small by his biological family. His greatest fears are being left and being forgotten. Look what you did," Jethro's words spat like pure venom. "I'm _not _leaving him alone. If you want me to leave, he's coming with me. I'm not leaving him."

Jethro turned his attention to Tony, sitting on the bed facing his boy and pulling him into a gentle embrace, wrapping him safely and securely in his strong arms. "I'm right here son. I'm not leaving you. You are not a bother. You're safe with me kiddo; I've got your six."

The father looked at the doctor maliciously. "Make your choice," he snarled softly.

He wrapped his arms tighter around Tony and rested his chin on top of Tony's head. "I'm right here bud," he murmured. "I'm not leaving you. You're with me and that's where you'll stay all night. I promise."

From Jethro's vantage point it looked like the doctor was going to really push the issue and force Jethro to leave. After a long moment though, the doctor let out a long sigh and rubbed a hand over his forehead. "Look. We can work this out together," he said. "Please try and understand—"

"No, _you _understand," Jethro bit out. "I understand your policies and your procedures and your rules. What I don't understand is how you can look at yourself in the mirror knowing that you are traumatizing a young boy because you think he needs to toughen up and not need his dad around. I'm here to tell ya—you're pulling that shit with the wrong family. I'm not budging from this spot unless you discharge Tony and he comes with me. And if you discharge him and something happens to him I will hold you personally responsible."

"Mr. Gibbs you're really being quite unreasonable," the doctor stated.

"No!" Jethro stood up and shook his head vehemently. "I am not being unreasonable. I am being a concerned parent. You, sir, are being unreasonable. Now what's it going to be?"

The doctor stared him down for a long moment then let out a long sigh. "I'll let the nursing staff know that you are permitted to stay. But if there is one complaint about—"

"Save it," Jethro snapped, turning his attention back to Tony. Tony was still sucking in sobbing, whimpery breaths, clutching at his sides because the erratic breathing was making him hurt worse. "Easy Tony," Jethro murmured, helping him ease back on the bed. He was concerned about how pale Tony's face had become. "Try to slow your breathing down son. It's going to be alright. I'm not leaving you."

"But the—the doctor said—I—you—Dad where's Kelly going to go? She hates to be alone at night!"

Jethro carded his fingers through Tony's hair lightly near his temple. "Shhhh, Doc said I could stay here. I'm not leaving you. Kelly's going to go stay the night with Leon and Jackie. You're safe. Kelly's safe. No one is going to hurt you anymore."

Quite a lot of details had been finalized during the transition upstairs while Tony was sleeping. Jethro had updated the team, let them know Tony wasn't saying who'd hurt him, that the hospital was giving him shit about staying, and what injuries the doctors had determined Tony to have. They'd worked out the plan for Kelly to hitch a ride with Mike over to Leon and Jackie's house and tomorrow (hopefully) when Tony was released from the hospital they'd all be reunited. Hetty promised to keep Jethro supplied with coffee in the morning on her way back into work. Kelly was understandably concerned about her brother, but once she'd gotten the rundown on what all was going on, she agreed it may be better to keep things low key for the night and see him tomorrow.

It was no secret among the team that Kelly and Tony didn't like to be alone at night. They'd never been crazy about it, but ever since Shannon died in the night while their house burned down and their dad was away, the kids didn't want to face the darkness on their own.

The doctor's face morphed from an expression of anger to one of concern when he saw how upset Tony got over the prospect of Jethro having to leave. He stepped closer to Tony's bed and observed the father trying to calm his son silently for a moment before resting a hand lightly on Tony's ankle and another on Jethro's shoulder. "Please," he said softly. "Forgive me. I'm sorry."

Jethro turned sharply to look at the doctor. His expression softened only slightly when he realized how sincere the doctor was being. He didn't understand why it was they always seemed to get doctors with ego complexes who thought they knew better than everyone else. For once, he'd just like to get a doctor who would friggin listen to him when he spoke of his kids and what they needed. Sure he wasn't a medical professional, but he was their father and he felt like too many doctors discounted the knowledge that parents held about their kids. "Just…learn from this," Jethro exhaled. "Parents aren't dumb. We know our kids. We know what they need. I wasn't trying to intentionally break the rules—I was trying to give my kid what he needs."

"I see that now," the doctor glanced at Tony who was still horribly pale. "I think Mr. Tony may benefit from something to take the edge off of the pain. What do you think?" he asked Jethro.

Jethro turned his gaze back to Tony. Tony had his eyes squinted but not closed, trying to swallow down the nausea that was quickly overwhelming him thanks to the concussion. "He gets horrible migraines," Jethro said softly, quickly lowering his voice when he saw how much pain Tony was in. "He was shot in the side of the head when he was six years old…Tony?" Jethro rubbed Tony's chest lightly. "Tony do you feel like you're getting a migraine?"

Tony thought about it for a long moment and then shook his head. No. Jethro let out a relieved breath he didn't realize he was holding.

The doctor quickly administered some medication to help with Tony's nausea. "That should help him feel better, but it may make him drowsy. I'm reluctant to dope him up because with the bruises to his chest and abdomen as well as the concussion…heavily medicating him may do more harm than good. I read in his chart about the gunshot wound. I'll make sure everyone knows to keep a look out for signs of a migraine."

Jethro nodded. "What about something mild for the pain? Maybe some Tylenol or ibuprofen or something? Just to take the edge off? Especially with the headache." He wanted nothing more than to inflict serious bodily harm on whoever hurt his boy. He didn't care who the kid was or how young he was. Tony was his and he would protect him. He wondered vaguely if the school had come any closer to figuring out who had done this. Tony certainly wasn't speaking up.

The doctor ordered some light medication to help take the edge off the pain so Tony could go to sleep.

Tony clutched at his dad's arm pitifully, still fearful that he was going to be left alone. By this point, Tony was nearly incoherent, unsure of anything happening around him. Jethro knew he'd be reassuring Tony all night long that he wasn't leaving thanks to that damn doctor.

"I'm right here son," Jethro reassured him again, taking his hands in his own and squeezing them gently. "Doc's gonna give ya some medicine to help you feel a little better without knocking you out ok? We've been through this before—you and I are in this together and you're gonna be fine. Tomorrow they're probably gonna let you out of here and we'll go home and watch movies and eat ice cream and try to fix what's left of the weekend. How's that sound?"

Tony stared at his dad for a long moment, feeling the cool medication coursing up his arm towards his brain. His eyes drooped to half-mast when the meds kicked in and he melted into the bed a bit more. He still clung onto Jethro's hand, but not as voraciously as before.

Jethro smiled as he watched the medication kick in and his boy calmed down. "I've got your six, Tony," he murmured, carding his fingers through Tony's hair again. "I'm right here and not leaving you. I wish you'd tell me who hurt you though," he added after a moment's pause.

Tony yawned and then winced when the deep breath in was painful. He exhaled slowly and his grip slackened even more. Jethro leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Tony's forehead. He picked up the ice pack and carefully placed it back on his boy's face just as Tony mumbled something. He was mostly asleep now and his eyes were mere slits of cloudy jade. "Daddy," he whispered.

Jethro leaned close, putting his ear near Tony's mouth. "Yeah son?"

"Asher, Daddy. Asher."

Jethro pressed another kiss to Tony's forehead and watched as his child slipped into peaceful slumber. He refused to leave Tony's side…but he'd make damn sure everyone knew who was responsible for hurting his kid the first opportunity he got.

"Asher," he muttered to himself, committing the name to memory. "Asher."

TBC…


	4. Consequences

_Thanks, as always, to my beta-reader, GotGoats!_

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 4: Consequences**

Jackie Vance opened the door when she heard the late-night knock. She'd gotten the call earlier that Kelly needed a place to stay because Tony was in the hospital. She worried for the Gibbses; it seemed they could never cut a break.

"Hi Sweetheart," Jackie said with a welcoming smile and embrace when she met Kelly and Mike at the door. She hugged Kelly tightly, letting the young woman drain the day's stresses away before releasing her. "Did you have dinner?"

Kelly hugged her friend tightly and felt a shudder pass through her frame as she recalled the image of her brother lying on the floor so beat up and defeated looking. She'd peeked in on him briefly in the hospital room, but he was asleep and she opted not to disturb him. "No," she finally answered. "I didn't want to leave the emergency room because I wanted to hear what was going on with Tony. Then they were moving him upstairs and we went with him and then I left pretty soon after that."

"Are you hungry, honey?"

"Yeah," Kelly said. "My brain is going like a million miles per hour…I know it's really late, but I'm really not tired."

"Mike would you like to join us?" Jackie asked, her arms still wrapped around Kelly.

Mike shook his head. "Nah, better run on home. Charley and Leyla are waiting for me. Gotta hit the case early in the morning too, to see if we can figure out who this murderer is."

"Leon is still at the office," Jackie told Mike. "He called a bit ago and said you all were going to the hospital to help Jethro and Kelly get settled."

"Yeah Hetty was going back to the office. She told me to head home and catch a nap then come back. Kiss the baby and all that."

Jackie smiled, wishing, not for the first time, that she and Leon would have children of their own. Ah well, perhaps one day. They were still young—only in their late-twenties. They had time.

"Have a good evening Mike," Jackie said.

"Bye Mike," Kelly said, releasing Jackie and hugging the Senior Field Agent. "Thank you for letting me ride with you."

"Are you kidding? The pleasure was all mine," he said gruffly with an awkward bow. "Goodnight ladies. Lock the door behind me."

The doors always stayed locked now. They had ever since Shannon was murdered.

"So," Jackie said, turning away from the securely locked door and smiling at Kelly. "What would you like to do tonight?"

Kelly looked at her friend with a sly grin. "I have some revenge to plot," she said seriously. "No one hurts my brother and gets away with it."

Jackie, concerned, looked at the fearless teenage girl. These kids had been through so much…there was little in the day-to-day realm of high school that actually intimidated them. "Kelly," her voice held a warning tone, "what are you planning?"

xxx

The sun rose on Saturday morning to unveil a beautiful spring day in Washington DC. The temperatures were getting warmer now, not the stifling humid heat of summer yet, but well on its way. The soccer team had early practice that day which made all of the members happy; they could go on to do other things once they were finished.

The team was thrilled; they'd won the semi-finals round yesterday, much to the surprise of Coach Rex, who for the life of him couldn't figure out what had happened to Tony Gibbs. He'd been in the locker room, but had apparently blown off the game in favor of being somewhere else. Coach planned to give that boy a stern talking to at practice this morning, but once he arrived, his gut twisted nervously when Tony didn't show up—again. He knew the lad well enough to know that if he was going to quit the team he'd have told someone.

Coach Rex was doubly surprised when the principal, Mr. Mershon, arrived. "Good morning Sir," he greeted warmly, offering a warm handshake.

"Coach, nice to see you. I need a word please, before you begin."

"With just me or all of the boys?"

"I want to speak with you first, then address the team."

"Boys begin your drills," the coach instructed the team. Then he turned his attention back to the principal. "What's going on?"

"I wanted to let you know what happened to Tony Gibbs."

"Little punk bailed on the game. Kind of out of sorts for him, but he's a teenager," Rex shrugged as though that explained everything. "Why, what do you know?"

"I know he was found in the locker room yesterday afternoon during the first half of the soccer game. He was beaten to unconsciousness and taken to the hospital via ambulance."

"What? But he was in the locker room with all of us! We were there!"

"Then I need to ask you if you saw anyone hurting him or threatening him?"

Coach Rex thought seriously about it for a long moment. "Not that I recall," he shook his head, "but…I mean all of the boys were there…they're always roughhousing before a game…are you sure that's not what it was?"

"Tony's father is a federal agent. He immediately got the police involved. If you have any information about any of the boys who could be responsible for this, I'm going to need to know.

"When did it happen?"

Merhson shrugged uncomfortably. "Best we can figure…Tony must have somehow gotten detained in the locker room or brought back there at the beginning of the game."

"He never made it out on to the field yesterday. I thought sure he'd just blown it off."

"I need to speak to the boys on the team and see if any of them knows anything."

Coach Rex wiped a hand over his forehead. "Look Mr. Mershon…can't we wait on this? I mean the final game of the season is next week—can't we address this after that?"

Mr. Mershon looked at Coach Rex, a cold expression on his face. "I think we're going to just pretend as though you never said that, Coach," he said quietly. "I saw Tony yesterday. They took him out of the locker room on a gurney to the ambulance and from there to the emergency room at the hospital because he was in such bad shape. His nose was broken, his lip was split, he could barely keep conscious. I talked to his father this morning. He's got a concussion, internal bruising…he's in a mess. We are dealing with this today. If you don't like it, I can find a new coach."

"Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't deal with this—of course we should!" Coach Rex sputtered, "But all I'm asking is that we just…y'know…get through the season first."

"I have the distinct feeling the only reason you are suggesting this is because you are fearful it may be one of the more talented players on your team who is responsible for what happened and you are concerned you won't be able to successfully win the championship if I decide to suspend them, or worse—if one of them gets arrested."

"Arrested?" Coach Rex whispered.

"Did I sputter when I told you Tony's father is a federal agent? There are police involved. They were swarming here immediately last night. The fact that the game ran into over-time is the only reason you didn't bear witness to any of it. By the time the game was over they'd gone over everything and left."

"I don't know what to say," Coach said helplessly.

"Well my suggestion would be to either figure it out quickly or stand silently in solidarity with me. I will be addressing this matter this morning and as soon as I find out who is responsible for what happened, I will be taking drastic measures. I enjoy our sports program here, but it cannot and will not take priority over the health and safety of our students. If it does that, then we've lost our focus and if we lose our focus we may as well all go home. Now, please call the boys over. We need to have a little chat."

Coach Rex blew the whistle and all of the soccer balls stopped moving. "Gather 'round and take a knee. Mr. Mershon needs to talk to ya."

The gaggle of teenage boys quickly settled on the ground in front of the principal and their coach. Mr. Mershon wasted no time jumping right in with both feet. "Good morning boys. I want to talk about yesterday."

"Yesterday rocked!" someone hooted from near the far left side of the group. Around him the boys all began cheering. It didn't take long for the stern look on the principal's face to quiet the boys' cheers.

"I have a question. One of your members is missing. Where is he?"

"Tony," one kid named Conner snorted. "Nobody knows where he is," he chuckled, "don't think anyone cares either. One less baby to contend with around here," he bumped shoulders with one of the other players and they giggled good-naturedly.

"Yes, Tony Gibbs is not here. Can you tell me where he is?"

There was an uncomfortable silence that passed over the group.

"I can tell you where he is," Mershon continued. He'd spoken with Jethro Gibbs early this morning to get an update on Tony's condition. "He's in the hospital. He had to spend the night there because he has a concussion and internal injuries."

Now the group buzzed with curiosity, all of the members looking at one another hoping for details.

Mr. Mershon glanced at the boys. "Anyone care to hazard a guess as to what might have happened to cause injuries such as those?" He glanced at each of the young men before him…and one in particular caught his eye. One kid near the back of the group was chuckling and snickering over what he had to say. He took a step into the group. "Something funny, there son? Something you want to share?"

The kid raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "No sir, we're cool. I've got nothing to say."

"That a fact?" Mershon asked. "Want to tell me what happened to your hands?"

Asher looked at his hands. His right hand was bruised and cut up from where he'd hit Tony repeatedly yesterday. He quickly put them in his pockets. "I got a little rough with my punching bag yesterday, Mr. Mershon," he said innocently.

"Your punching bag named Tony!" another boy spoke up. The kid rose to his feet and everyone's eyes widened in shock. This was DJ, the youngest member of the team. He was the quietest, most laid back kid on the whole team. "I heard you threatening him in the hall yesterday. Saying you were going to kick his ass. Calling him a pussy over and over again. He wasn't doing anything to you—he was trying to get you to leave him alone!"

Mr. Mershon stepped over to Asher, who was now glaring at the other kid. "You got a big, fat mouth there, princess," he sneered. "Keep that shit up and I'll…"

The sound of a throat clearing stopped his words mid-rant.

"Why don't you come with me Asher?" Mr. Mershon's tone left no room for discussion. "I think you and I need to have a little chat."

xxx

By Saturday morning, both Jethro and Tony were exhausted. Every time Tony had finally managed to doze off, the nurse would pop back in for her routine concussion checks. This also kept Jethro awake. Tony was quiet and sullen for most of the night, groaning whenever he moved, glaring at anyone who tried to touch him (aside from Jethro). He was nauseous and had thrown up a couple more times, despite the medication they had given him to help stop the nausea.

The breakfast trays arrived at 0800 and Tony looked faintly ill at the sight of the slightly runny scrambled eggs and the bowl of pasty, gray goo that was supposed to be oatmeal. He nibbled pitifully on a piece of bacon.

"How ya feeling this morning kiddo?" Jethro asked quietly, sipping his cup of nurse's desk coffee. The professionals on the hall had taken a bit of a shine to the attractive 40-something year old federal agent and his baby-faced teenaged son. They brought Jethro cup after cup of "the good stuff."

"I'm ok," Tony murmured. He'd given up on the bacon, tossing it listlessly back onto the plate. He'd eased back against his pillows again, hugging his ribs carefully, trying not to breathe, move or speak too suddenly, lest he jar everything again.

Jethro stepped over to Tony's bed and rested a hand lightly on Tony's forehead. "How's the head?" he murmured, knowing by the pinched look in his son's eyes that he had a headache.

"Kinda feels like someone kicked it in," Tony admitted. "My nose hurts."

Jethro's fingers tightened around the coffee cup he held, but there was no other sign of outward anger over the situation. Jethro knew that Tony would take to heart anything negative he picked up on. He would blame himself for what happened and try to take the pressure off of everyone else and carry the burden himself. He lightly scratched his fingers on Tony's scalp, slowly massaging and soothing through touch, letting his hands tell his son what he did not have the words to say. "Got your six," he said quietly. "You wanna rest some?"

"Doesn't matter," Tony shrugged one shoulder minutely. "If I go to sleep someone's gonna come wake me up anyway." He shifted uncomfortably, grimacing in pain, but making no noise. He closed his eyes pathetically.

Jethro stayed where he was, offering whatever comfort he could. They stayed that way for a few minutes and just when Jethro thought Tony had finally dozed off, Tony suddenly spoke without opening his eyes. "Did we win?"

"What? Win what?" Jethro asked, momentarily distracted, thrown off by the random change of subject.

Tony cracked one eye open. "The game."

"Of course," Jethro rolled his eyes at himself. "How could I forget?" he smiled sadly at his boy. "Your team won yesterday, big guy. You're going to finals."

Tony opened both of his eyes now and stared at his dad. "Really?"

Jethro smiled. "Really. So you need to rest up and get to feeling better so you can go wow everyone."

A yawn escaped Tony's lips before he could protest. "I'm tired," he murmured, eyes sliding shut a bit.

Jethro sat down on the bed, mindful of Tony's injuries. "Got nowhere to be anytime soon," he said reasonably. "No reason why you can't rest."

Tony's eyes dropped fully shut, and Jethro smiled sadly, reaching out and lightly carding his fingers through the hair at Tony's temple. He thought Tony had dozed off when his boy spoke quietly without opening his eyes. "'m not just tired 'cause of yesterday," he mumbled.

Jethro lifted the coffee cup and took a long sip. "Wanna tell me more about that?" he asked carefully.

Tony was quiet for a long time. The nurse had come by a while earlier to give him another dose of medication to assist with the nausea that was still lingering. It seemed that the medication they were giving Tony not only made him drowsy, but it also seemed to loosen his tongue just enough that all of his secrets seemed to pour freely out of his mouth. "Jus'…feel like…never stops…y'know? Always…always goin'…gotta run and go…" Tony's words trailed off for another long moment. Jethro continued brushing his fingers through Tony's hair, knowing it soothed and reassured his boy. "I don't wanna run track or swim anymore Daddy," he finally whispered. "'s too much."

Jethro set the coffee cup down on the rollaway table and leaned forward, wrapping his boy in a loose hug, taking care not to hurt him. He pulled his child close to him, his heart swelling when he felt Tony embrace him in return. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" Jethro breathed in his ear. "This…you don't have to do all of this stuff…or any of it if you don't want to."

"Jus' want…wan' you t'be proud of me," Tony mumbled pitifully. "Wanna make you proud."

Jethro sat up and pulled Tony across his lap, hugging him tighter, wrapping his arms securely around his boy. "I am always proud of you. You don't have to do anything special to make yourself stand out. You don't have to run yourself in the ground. I think you're perfect however you choose to be, and if you don't want to do some of these things, then we'll stop them. Right now. You don't have to do any of them."

Tony blinked heavily and stared at his dad. "Really? Mean it?"

Jethro smiled and gave his son a light headslap, mindful of the concussion. "When have I ever said something I don't mean?"

Tony smiled drunkenly, his eyes at half-mast. "Think 'm gonna take a nap," he whispered, leaning a little heavier against his dad.

"That's a good idea, son. Just rest. We'll be out of here in no time."

"I don't…wanna go…grandma's…" Tony whispered, more deeply asleep now.

Jethro's heart twisted. It seemed Tony would never fully overcome that awful debacle that took place after Shannon died. He'd never be able to fully undo the damage that he'd done or that JoAnne had done. So he did the only thing he could do now. Hugging Tony a little bit tighter, Jethro pressed a kiss to Tony's temple. "You're not going to Grandma's. I'm not letting you out of my sight. You're mine, son. And I've got your six. I'm right here with you and you're staying with me now. It's all ok."

xxx

Mr. Mershon sat back in his chair in his office and steepled his fingers in front of him. "Asher, I hope you understand, I am merely trying to collect information. What happened to Tony Gibbs is a very serious situation and if there is a potential threat to any other students we'd like to do whatever possible to remove that threat if we can. I have confirmation that Tony was in the locker room with the soccer team yesterday before the game started."

Asher looked at the principal from where he sat slumped in the chair across from Mr. Mershon's desk. "Ok," he said snidely. "What's that gotta do with me?"

"Do you recall seeing Tony in the locker room?"

"I see the little twerp all around the school. I see him in the locker room, the gym, the lunchroom, history class. I'm not sure what you're getting at."

Mershon leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, a dark smile playing over his features. "I'm only trying to gather information. I'm curious, though, why you're so defensive?"

"I'm not defensive, man! Why are you interrogating me?"

"I'm not interrogating you. But the police officers who are investigating the attack against Tony Gibbs in the locker room may be interested in speaking with you and your friends."

"Why would they be interested in talking to me?!"

"You said you were hitting a punching bag last night?" Mershon pressed.

Asher raised his chin defiantly. "Yeah, that's what I said."

"With only one hand?"

At the principal's words, the cocky boy's mouth dropped open, stopping before the rant could begin. "I don't have to answer your questions," he snapped, crossing his arms and hiding his hands.

"If you don't have anything to hide, I don't see why it is you're so defensive and so unwilling to help us figure out what happened," Mr. Mershon said reasonably.

"Maybe I don't give a damn what happened to that little pussy," Asher sneered. "Maybe I think he got what he deserved."

"Well then maybe your name will be the one I give the police officers when they show up here on Monday morning to continue their investigation," Mr. Mershon told him.

"I don't have to take this!" Asher roared, rising to his feet.

"SIT. DOWN." Mr. Mershon's face colored with anger. "I am in charge here. I am the adult. I am the principal. We will discuss this and you will be part of it. If you do not cooperate, your name is the first name I will give the police officers on Monday. Do I need to explain what could happen to you if you become involved with the police over this?"

Asher sank back into his chair. "Can we avoid going to the police? I don't wanna get mixed up with the cops man. Not over some stupid ass kid like Tony."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop using so much profanity. Especially in regards to one of your teammates."

"He's not my teammate. We play on the same team. We do not play together. He's not part of my team."

Mr. Mershon nodded. "He's still a peer. And we are a community here. You don't have to like or be friends with everyone here, but you won't speak of anyone like that. Not in my office, not on my school property. We clear?"

Asher glared. "Crystal."

"Now," Mr. Mershon said. "Tell me what happened in the locker room yesterday."

xxx

Finally, _finally _Tony was released from the hospital around lunch time. They dosed him up with all sorts of anti-nausea medication and anti-inflammatories in order to help keep his pain and nausea managed until he could get home. They were trying to keep him from vomiting because with internal bruising and bruising on his ribs, throwing up was tremendously painful. Jethro called Kelly as they were leaving the hospital and let her know they were heading home. She promised to meet them there and bring them lunch.

Tony shook his head raggedly at the thought of food, and Jethro spoke grimly into the phone. "Better not bring anything for Tony. He's got a mild concussion and isn't feeling up to eating."

Kelly promised to find something Tony could eat; she was concerned about him feeling left out despite his current situation.

Jethro beamed with pride at his daughter. He wondered what she would do next year after she graduated. Would she go away to college? Stay home and find a college close by? What would she major in? Would she rather go to a trade school and find a job quickly? She was playing her cards close to her chest these days and Jethro hadn't heard anything about what her plans were. She knew he'd support her no matter what she decided to do, and he was determined to live up to that.

When Kelly arrived home, she handed a bag with subs in it to Jethro and set a cup of warm soup on the table for Tony. "I got him chicken noodle soup, Daddy," she said. "I know he prefers tomato soup or potato soup, but I was afraid that'd be hard on his stomach. Chicken noodle soup always goes down easy. And this has big noodles and chunks of chicken and carrots in it—it's not just watered down broth with spaghetti in it like you get out of the can."

"Nothing wrong with a good can of soup," Jethro said with a wink.

"No, there is nothing wrong with a _good_ can of soup," Kelly agreed. "There is everything wrong with watered down broth and spaghetti in a can though!"

Tony was dozing on the couch, smiling slightly to himself as he listened to his dad and sister banter back and forth. The sounds of his home always made him feel better, reassured, and safe. And now, without all of the nurses bustling around and all of the equipment beeping every detail of his physiology to the entire hospital, Tony was starting to relax. The medications they'd given him had a gentle pull on his consciousness, and he was quite certain he could take a long relaxing nap. He snuggled down on the couch a bit more, smiling at the memory of the wonderful futon his daddy built for him when he had his knee surgery all those years ago. It was lost in the fire along with everything else. This couch was long and wide and covered in dark brown leather. It was cool and comfortable and Tony loved sleeping there. It was the greatest place on earth to sleep aside from his own bed.

Kelly poked her head in the living room and smiled sadly when she saw Tony sleeping on the couch. "Is he really ok Daddy?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Jethro who had just taken a big bite of his sandwich.

Jethro nodded, chewing and holding up one finger indicating he had more to say after he swallowed. A sip of coffee later and Jethro let out a long breath. "I think so," he said somewhat helplessly. "The doctor…he was kind of an ass. I'm going to have Ducky come over this afternoon and check him over again."

Kelly nodded and turned back to her dad. "That's a good plan," she said. "Is he going to go to school on Monday?"

Jethro took another bite, smaller this time, and chewed thoughtfully. "I'm going to encourage him to stay home. If he's feeling better we'll discuss it, but I'd like him to stay home at least one day."

"Is someone going to stay home with him?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet, but I would assume that I would be here with him if he needs me."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "I would do it, but I can't. I have to go to school on Monday."

Jethro raised one eyebrow. "Well, I wouldn't expect you to stay home, Angel," he said.

Kelly took a bite of her own sandwich. "Normally, I'd volunteer to stay with him…but Monday…I need to go to school."

"What's going on Monday?"

Kelly didn't tell her daddy about the plans for revenge she was already putting into motion. "There are career counselors coming to school on Monday to help the seniors figure out what they wanna do after they graduate. I need to go talk to them."

"Have you got any ideas about what you want to do next year?" Jethro asked.

"I haven't really thought about it," Kelly said with a shrug. "I kinda think I would enjoy doing something in the medical field…maybe being a nurse or something like Mom…but I also like kids, so I didn't know about maybe being a teacher or something," she shrugged. "I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up!"

Jethro smiled. "Well the good news is you don't have to decide all at once. Take your time; if you need to sample some different courses or programs or something to figure out what you want to do that's ok too. The main thing is for you to pick something that makes you happy. You're going to spend a lot of years doing whatever you decide on hopefully, so I think it'd be wise to make sure you pick something you enjoy."

"Yeah," Kelly said thoughtfully. "Anyway, once I decide I'll let you know. But right now I have no clue."

"You're only seventeen, Kells," Jethro said drily. "It's a scheduling process. Like I said, take your time and figure out what you want to do. There's no rush. You have your whole life ahead of you."

xxx

Jethro opened his front door, curious as to which of his colleagues may be on the other side. He was surprised to see Leon standing there. "How's our boy?" he asked, glancing over Jethro's shoulder at Tony sprawled on the couch.

Jethro let his gaze follow Leon's as he turned and looked at Tony. "He's had better days," he said quietly. "Broken nose, bruised liver, cracked rib. His lip is busted and he's got a serious concussion. I'd like to find the little bastard who did this and show him what kind of ass kicking a father will hand out."

"You won't be able to do Tony a bit of good if you get arrested," Leon said with a smile around the toothpick in the corner of his mouth.

Jethro faced his friend head on and smirked, reaching out and snatching the toothpick out of Vance's mouth. "Why do you think the kid still has his ass intact?" he asked innocently. "What brings ya over, by the way? How's the case?"

"The case is closed," Leon said. "I talked to Jackie and she gave me an update on the kids. Said Kelly's plotting revenge against the kids who're responsible, but won't say what she has planned or when she's doing it or who all is involved. She only said that no one messes with Tony without consequences."

Jethro chuckled. "She's always been like that. I think she gets it from her mom. She's scary when she's mad," he turned a frightened face towards his friend and Leon smirked.

"Hetty's worried about you," Leon said frankly. "She's worried that you're going to go kill a kid."

"The thought has crossed my mind," Jethro said honestly, "but I need to be here. The kids need me. I can't go off half-cocked."

Vance nodded. "I get that," he said. "Well, since he's sleeping I won't wake him, but I wanted to check in and see how he was doing and if you all needed anything."

"Nah, we're good," Jethro said. Then he looked at Leon and smirked. "Did Jackie put you up to stopping by?"

Leon smiled. "She wanted me to warn you about Kelly plotting and scheming, but it seems that your daughter made my wife swear she wouldn't tell you."

Jethro chuckled. "Semantics. That's clever."

"If you need anything let us know," Leon said, much more seriously.

Jethro smiled and glanced over his shoulder at Tony. The teen was still sprawled on the couch, one arm hanging off the side, the other flopped up behind his head, mouth wide open (thanks to the broken nose), still sound asleep. "I will. I think it's gonna be alright though."

Jethro's cell phone started to ring and he smiled at his friend. "Thanks for stopping by."

Vance just nodded as he departed, leaving Jethro to answer the phone. "Yeah, Gibbs," he said.

_"Hello Mr. Gibbs, this is Mr. Mershon calling from the school."_

"What can I do for you?" Jethro asked.

_"I wanted to let you know that I have discovered the person responsible for what happened to Tony and he is being dealt with in what I feel is a very appropriate manner."_

Jethro's eyes narrowed. He wanted the police involved. Wanted his boy protected. "Go on," he encouraged quietly. "Who is it?"

_"Young man by the name of Asher Camden. He plays on Tony's soccer team. He's got a busted up hand, an attitude problem, and several students who overheard him threatening to beat Tony up in the hallway at school yesterday."_

Jethro nodded, satisfied that the principal came up with the same name Tony'd given him. "So what are you going to do to fix it? I'd be very interested in getting the police involved further with this punk," he grumbled.

_"Well, I have already began putting some of it into action,"_ Mr. Mershon said.

"I'm listening," Jethro prompted.

As the principal began to lay out the punishment he had in mind for Asher, a dark smile crossed Jethro's features. What the principal wanted to do would cause Asher just as much pain and discomfort as getting the police involved would—or perhaps even more. Asher came from a well-off family; his parents surely had connections that would prevent him getting into too much trouble with the police. But this…this plan would keep all of the punishment in the school, but would have long-reaching, long-lasting effects.

"Mr. Mershon," Jethro said with a smile, "I think that you, sir, are a genius."

TBC…


	5. Careless

_Thanks as always to my wonderful beta, Gotgoats.  
**Author's Note**: Don't hate me?_

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 5: Careless**

Mike Franks was a master at undercover work. He could change his persona from NCIS agent into a janitor, a farmer, a banker, an oil tycoon, a mafia thug, or a drug lord. He blended in, using his environment to give him cues on what to say and where to stand and who to make friends with. He was quick on his feet and savvy, the agent everyone wanted to have go undercover for their investigation, but if there was one thing he was _not _good at, it was lying to his wife.

And Mike, stand-up guy, agent, husband and father that he was, had a secret. He'd learned a rule from Gibbs about keeping secrets, and he felt the rule absolutely applied in this instance.

_**Flashback**_

_It wasn't long after they'd moved to DC. Jethro was still getting used to working at NCIS with Hetty and Mike, and Leon had not yet come onto the team. It was time for him to take his first vacation, but he was keeping the destination a secret. No one could get out of him where they were going—not even Hetty or Mike. He'd simply smile, tell them that it was a surprise for his family, and turn back to his work._

_Jethro kept that secret for two months without telling anyone where they were going. _

_Since they'd known each other, Shannon had dreamed of visiting Italy. When they got married, there hadn't been enough money to take a big fancy honeymoon. They'd driven down to the beach and spent the week there, barely seeing the ocean at all. They'd worked for years to save money, provide nice things for their children, take family trips when they could, but with Jethro in the Marines, most of their traveling was criss-crossing the United States to visit Grandpa and Grandma._

_This trip would be special. It wasn't as long as he would like for it to be, but he'd carefully planned the whole bit so that the kids would each get to see something they'd enjoy, and Shannon could get to visit Rome—see the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, all of those wonderful places people read about and hear about, but so many don't get to experience in person. _

"_Why not tell us where you're going, Probie?" Mike asked, the night before the Gibbs family left._

_Jethro simply smiled at his friend. "Because, that way if Shannon finds out what the surprise is, I won't have to worry about who told her. Rule number 4, Mike. The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself. The second best way is to tell one other person. There is no third best. I'm not telling."_

"_Awww c'mon I want to know!" Mike was practically whining. He'd seen Jethro's excitement grow as he'd carefully planned the trip. He'd watched his junior agent over the past few weeks, smiling to himself, obviously proud of what he'd come up with._

"_You'll know when we get back!" Jethro said with a cheeky smile. "See ya in a couple of weeks, Mike!"_

_**End Flashback**_

Unfortunately, Mike knew that his secret was one which must be kept, if he wanted to keep his family intact. He hadn't intended on it happening, but sometimes things happen without a plan and you're left picking up the pieces once all the chips fall. Right now, Mike felt a bit like the guy who juggles plates on the poles…he was almost certain that Charley was suspicious of something going on.

He'd been doing surveillance on a suspect when he met her in the bistro. She was young, a waitress, trying to work her way through a degree from George Washington University. The two hit it off as he sat on the porch of the small restaurant with a clear view of the apartment building next door. He'd explained to her quietly that he'd be there probably most of a day, sipping coffee if she would be so kind as to keep him filled up. He promised her a big tip for being so nice to "give up" one of her tables for the day.

Mike remained focused on his responsibilities, but he also had a nice time chatting with the girl. He learned that her name was Delia and she was a Senior in college, majoring in Dance and minoring in Human Services.

Once the case was over, he'd learned just how flexible those dance classes made her.

It was very casual between them, just looking for a bit of fun, a bit of a break from real life. He'd insisted she never call him at home, and absolutely never call him by his real name. He'd bought a second cell phone through another cell phone company, and only gave her the number. It was the only number she had with which to contact him and he was ok with that. He liked to keep a bit of control on things, but right now things were beginning to feel out of control.

He hadn't mentioned Delia to anyone, but he'd occasionally been the recipient of odd, off-handed comments from Leon. Mike knew that Jackie and Charley were good friends, but he didn't want to ask if Charley had been talking to Jackie; he knew he'd have to divulge information if that were to happen. He couldn't afford for there to be too many questions.

So he made the decision that he needed to end things with the pretty little flexible, incredibly hot waitress-dancer-lover that he enjoyed so much. He wanted to be with his daughter as she grew up and he knew if he ruined his marriage Charley would get Leyla. At 4 years old now, Leyla was a beautiful child with long dark hair and mildly Latino looking features. She was the spitting image of her mother, the beautiful Charley whose parents had moved to America when she was a small child. She was born in Costa Rica and her parents' jobs had forced them to move to the states. She and Mike had been together going on ten years this year, and he didn't want to lose that. Didn't want to lose her.

The cracks were beginning to show, and Mike knew it was only a matter of time before the whole thing came out. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to do everything in his power to hold it together for as long as possible. He'd been an idiot; he should never have gotten involved with Delia. He knew that now. He only hoped he could end things as quietly as possible without upending his entire world.

xxx

Jethro was more than satisfied with the punishment that Mr. Mershon laid out for him. He, like Jethro, had been concerned about getting the police involved, because Asher's family did have a lot of wealth and connections, and they were known for slinging those into whatever direction was necessary to keep their reputation nice and shiny. Mershon assured Jethro he could not be bought, assured him that he took his position as leader of the high school very seriously, and he wanted each of his children to be safe while they were under his care.

So, Mr. Mershon began his punishment toward Asher with an Out Of School suspension for ten days. Once he returned to school, he would be put into In School Suspension for another 10 days. During those two suspension times, he would have the ability to contact his teachers and would be expected to continue with his assignments just as if he were in class.

It was no secret around school that Asher was gunning for a sports career, and that universities around the nation were already beginning to have his name fall on the lips of their coaches as one of the up and coming high school stars that everyone would want to have at their school. He was good looking, intelligent, an all-around "nice guy" and would be an excellent image to entice other future stars to their schools with.

Mr. Mershon decided the best way to punish Asher—to really drive home the lesson of what happened and what those consequences meant—would be to find a way to hit him where it would hurt him the most. The suspensions wouldn't faze him. He'd been known to lay out of school on occasion; this would be just another vacation for him. No, the real punishment was for Mr. Mershon to permanently ban him from playing sports. Football, soccer, basketball, baseball—all of them. He wasn't even allowed to run track. This had several long reaching consequences, all of which made the principal smile.

As he explained to Jethro, it was next to impossible to play sports in college if you did not play sports in high school. College coaches visit the schools where they've heard there's a star and they watch them play and decide if their school should begin a courtship with the student to bring them aboard their teams. He talked with Coach Rex and found out which schools had already contacted him about young Asher Camden. Coach Rex reluctantly provided the names of twelve very well known, far reaching, influential universities who already had Asher in their sites.

Mr. Mershon was in the process of contacting the head coaches of those universities, letting them know that their little star, Asher Camden, was being suspended and banned from playing sports for his crimes of discrimination, hazing, assault and suspected of hate crimes on other students including threats and physical violence.

Needless to say, the schools he'd already spoken with were quick to drop Asher's name from their list of hopefuls. Though he was only a sophomore, scouts were already beginning to seek him out and Mr. Mershon was making it his personal project to nip that as quickly as possible.

He felt it was time for this boy to learn that he lived in the real world, where people's feelings matter, where money can't always get you what you want, and where violence towards others is never recognized as heroic or honorable. This cocky kid would be brought down several pegs if he had anything to say about it. He'd be happy to write scholarship letters for him if the time came, but there would be no more sports in his future.

Mr. Mershon's grin was audible through the phone when he spoke with Jethro, _"Honestly Mr. Gibbs,"_ he said, _"this kid will be lucky if he's picked to play on an intramural kickball game once he gets to college. I am personally planning to see to it that he is not afforded all those opportunities that would generally be so willingly passed to him. He's going to have to work hard to make himself stand out—just like all the other kids at this school. I don't care who his parents are. He doesn't run this school. He doesn't make the rules here. His parents don't either. I do. That's my job. And I'm not letting some 16 year old kid or his rich parents tell me how to run my school."_

"Mr. Mershon," Jethro said with a smile, "I think that you, sir, are a genius. Thank you for handling this situation for us and for being so…thorough."

Jethro promised to keep Mershon updated on how Tony was progressing and when he thought he'd be back to school. Jethro agreed that even if Tony wasn't back to playing yet, next weekend at the semi-finals Tony would at least be on the bench to support his team. "He's worked so hard for so long, I couldn't bear to make him miss it. If he's feeling up to it, he'll be there. I can't imagine that he'd miss out though."

Jethro hung up the phone with a smile on his face. He couldn't wait to tell Tony the news.

xxx

A couple of hours later, Jethro woke Tony up gently, mindful of his injuries, and helped him sit up on the couch. It was late afternoon and he'd been asleep pretty much since they arrived at home. Jethro had a bowl of the soup Kelly brought for Tony sitting on the coffee table, warmed up and ready to eat, and gauging how he was feeling, wanted to share with Tony the news from Mr. Mershon what he'd decided to do with Asher. Ducky was in the other room, talking to Kelly, giving Jethro a chance to wake his boy up and get a feel for how he was doing before examining him himself.

"How ya feeling kiddo?" Jethro asked, hooking his hands gently under Tony's arms and helping him sit up.

Tony groaned softly when his position was altered, and he raised a hand to his forehead, trying to rub away the headache that had settled behind his eyes. Why did he always feel worse after taking a nap than he did before he laid down? It made no sense to him. He realized his dad was speaking to him and tried to focus.

"With me Tony?" Jethro asked, his voice was quiet and soothing.

Tony groaned again as a wave of nausea rolled over him and he pressed his eyes closed, nodding slowly. "Think so…might be sick," he mumbled.

Jethro eyed Tony with concern. "We've got a bucket here if we need it," he said. "Try and take some deep breaths—as deep as you can without it hurting. Ducky's here; I'm going to go tell him to come take a look at you."

"I don' wanna throw up," Tony gasped suddenly. "Ohhhh God it'll hurt," he winced in anticipation.

"Just sit tight ok? I'm going to get Ducky. Here's the bucket Tony. I've got your six." Jethro hurried out of the room, heading for the kitchen where Ducky was speaking quietly with Kelly.

"Ah, hello there Jethro," Ducky said when he burst into the room.

"Do you have anything in your bag of tricks to help with nausea?" Jethro asked, ignoring Ducky's greeting. "Tony's feeling sick and we really don't want him to start throwing up if we can help it. He's hurting bad, Duck."

"Let me just take a quick look…Did the doctor not prescribe him anything for nausea?" Ducky asked as he rummaged through his bag.

"No," Jethro said grimly. "He said the nausea should pass. Gave him a dose of it before we left, but I guess it's worn off now." His head whipped around when he heard the sound of Tony suddenly coughing and heaving. "Shit," he cursed softly, hurrying back to the living room.

Tony was heaving in the bucket, cries of pain interspersed between his retches. He could have sobbed in relief (but that would hurt too) when Jethro suddenly appeared at his elbow, one arm bracing him across the front of his chest, the other hand rubbing soothing circles over his back. "Oh God," Tony moaned. "Oh owww…Da-daddy," he panted pitifully, "Daddy it…it h-hurtsss…"

"Shhhh I know it hurts son. Just try and keep your breathing under control," Jethro murmured, even as Tony began to heave and retch again. He squeezed his boy in a very gentle embrace and Tony let out a low whine of pain.

"Anthony, my dear boy, I do say you are in quite a state," Ducky tutted, hurrying into the room. Thankfully he'd had the forethought to pack both an anti-emetic and one of the mild painkillers which they knew wouldn't cause Tony undue stress. Heavy painkillers, especially narcotics, often resulted in horrible side effects for Tony—sometimes as mild as merely acting intoxicated, but other times causing severe night terrors, delusions and hallucinations. The poor lad had enough bad experiences—enough skeletons in his closet if you will—that more often than not, those hallucinations, delusions and night terrors featured images from Tony's early childhood before he came to live with Gibbs and his family. Best to keep him with a milder medication and stay ahead of the symptoms.

Unfortunately, they hadn't managed to stay ahead of the symptoms this time.

"D-ducky," Tony panted, heaving in deep breaths and letting them out in cries and whines of pain, "Ducky help me, please help me," he begged raggedly.

The good doctor quickly administered the medications with one injection, and Ducky watched as Tony began to calm almost instantly as the pain eased and his body regained control of itself. "There, there Tony," Ducky murmured, rubbing his hand along Tony's upper arm where he'd made the injection. "That should help now, just relax. Nice slow breaths, as deeply as you can without pain. There we are."

Jethro slid onto the couch behind Tony and pulled him securely back against him, mindful of his injuries, taking care not to hurt him more than he already was. "Just rest son," he breathed into Tony's ear. "I've got you. We have your six. Gonna be alright."

"I don't wanna sleep anymore," Tony mumbled tiredly, his eyes dropping shut. "Where's Kelly?"

"I'm here Tony," Kelly called, entering the room carrying a small cup of grape juice. "Here's some juice. Can I help you with it?"

Tony opened his eyes and stared blearily at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry," he said sullenly.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Kelly retorted.

"Because…those kids yesterday…they said awful things to you," Tony whispered. "You…you didn't deserve that. Was only 'cause of me."

Kelly helped him take a sip of juice then set the cup aside and cupped his face in her hands. "You listen to me, Mister," she said firmly. "Those kids? That crap they said? That's on them. It's not because of you. It's because they're jerks. You don't need to apologize for that or anything else. It's on them. It's not on you."

"Are you sure?" Tony whispered.

"I'm positive. And let me tell you. I have plans for Sarah and her slimy lies."

Tony's expression sobered slightly. "What? Kelly what are you going to do?"

A glance at Jethro showed he looked as concerned as Tony did. "I'm going to take care of it," she said snippily. "No one messes with my brother and gets away with it."

"You can't get in trouble because of me!" Tony groaned when he sat up suddenly, and wrapped an arm around his ribs.

"I won't get into trouble," Kelly said confidently.

"How do you know?" Tony asked.

Kelly smiled. "Because no one will ever know I did anything."

Jethro raised his eyebrows. "Pretty confident of yourself there, missy," he observed.

"Of course, Daddy," Kelly said innocently. "I learned from the best."

"Please," Tony said. "Please don't get into trouble because of me."

"Trust me Tony. The only ones who will be getting into any trouble are Sarah and Asher."

"Asher's already in quite a bit of trouble," Jethro commented.

"Ohhhh well, I guess a little more trouble won't hurt him," Kelly said seriously; the innocence in her smile made Jethro want to cringe. What was Kelly up to?

xxx

Tony was not thrilled with the punishment Mr. Mershon came up with, much to Jethro's surprise. In hindsight though, he figured he shouldn't have been at all surprised. Tony unfortunately always seemed to put everyone else above himself. He could understand Asher getting suspended for hurting him, but he could not understand why the principal wanted to so thoroughly ruin any chance Asher had of playing sports.

"It's because it's what he loves, Tony," Jethro tried to explain. "That punishment will be the most effective way to teach him that what he has done is wrong and that behaviors like that will not be tolerated."

"Dad, he did not hurt me that bad," Tony argued. "I'm fine!"

"You call spending the night in the hospital with a cracked rib, a bruised liver and a broken nose _fine?_" Jethro snapped.

"Dad—no, I don't, but—"

"But nothing. Those injuries that caused you to stay in the hospital overnight are the reason Mr. Mershon is proceeding as he is. You could have been killed."

"But I wasn't! I'm going to be fine!" Tony snapped back, making sure to amend his earlier statement about how fine he was.

"Yes, you are. But what about the next kid? What if you aren't the only one he does something like this to? Huh? What if he does this to a girl? What if he does this to a kid who's a lot smaller than you? Will they be fine?" Jethro's gaze darkened. "What if he goes after Kelly? Would she be fine?"

"I'll kill him if he messes with Kelly. I'll rip his dang head off," Tony said seriously. "He's not that stupid though."

"He's that angry though. Sometimes angry people do some really stupid things," Jethro cautioned. "Mr. Mershon is just trying to make sure everyone at your school stays safe. I didn't ask him to do this. He came up with it all on his own. He's worried about his students. He's doing his job, son."

"Is that going to make my life harder though?" Tony hissed. "How many other jocks are going to come around now and want to kick my ass because their good buddy Asher got into so much trouble? What's that going to do for me? Am I going to be safe to be in a locker room? I honestly don't care that much about Asher. I just—" he broke off suddenly. Woah there, tiger, take it easy, no need to go spilling all of your secrets and fears to your dad.

Jethro moved forward right into Tony's space when he saw the brief flash of panic in his eyes. "You just what?" he asked gently, cupping his son's bruised face in his hands. "Tell me Tony. You can trust me."

"It…I don't even know how to explain it…but…when he was hitting me…I think I remembered my…" he shuddered.

"You remembered your father, didn't you?" Jethro breathed.

Tony kept his gaze on his lap and nodded. They'd not heard from Senior in several years—not since Hetty contacted the prison after Senior sent Tony a letter just before Shannon died. Tony rarely mentioned it, but in times when he was hurting or scared…memories of Anthony DiNozzo Senior always came back up.

Jethro pulled Tony into a hug. The medications were working for now so he was feeling a bit better. Jethro needed to go to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription Ducky had written out. Neither man could understand why the doctor had neglected to give Tony prescriptions to take home with him. It made no sense. "I'm so sorry this—all of this—has happened to you," Jethro whispered into Tony's ear.

"Not your fault Dad," Tony whispered back.

"I'd take away all your hurts if I could," Jethro said, putting his hands on Tony's shoulders and looking at him carefully. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded, smiling slightly then wincing when it tugged on his busted lip. "I know."

xxx

Jethro was sitting in the rocking chair reading while Tony dozed on the couch. Kelly had to work this afternoon, so she wouldn't be home until later. It was Sunday afternoon and Tony was thankfully beginning to feel a bit better. They'd decided that he would stay home from school tomorrow and Jethro would stay with him to monitor any adverse side effects to his injuries or the medications.

The ringing doorbell drew both Gibbs men's attention and Tony quickly pushed himself up into reclined, but seated position. Jethro rose to answer the door.

"Hey Mike," Jethro greeted his friend warmly. "What are you doing here?"

"We were talking the other night about how Tony's cell phone got broken. I got to thinking…I have this extra phone lying around. It's a prepaid phone, so there's no contracts or anything, ya just go buy refill cards as it needs 'em. Might wanna see about getting the number changed though."

"Oh?" Jethro asked.

"Why's that?" Tony piped up.

Mike grinned. "Some broad-er-chick-uh-lady keeps calling. Keeps asking for 'Spanky'. So might want to get a new number. But other than that…you can have it. I'm not using it."

"Why'd you have a burn phone lying around?" Jethro asked.

Mike shook his head. "'Nother story for another day, Probie. Do ya want the phone Tony?"

"Dad? Can I?" Tony asked.

Jethro looked at Mike carefully. There was something Mike wasn't telling them. "Sure Tony," Jethro finally relented. "If nothing else, you could use that one until we can get you a new one."

They'd be getting him a new one soon. Jethro didn't know why this phone set off his gut so much, but he'd learned to listen to it and not question it.

"Thank you Mike!" Tony exclaimed. "My old phone got busted the other night when I got knocked down by the punk on my bike after he stole it."

Mike shook his head in wonder. "You attract trouble likes flies to honey, Tony," he said with a sad little laugh.

Tony shrugged. "Better me than anyone else?" he offered.

"Think we better agree to disagree on that one, kid," Mike said, shaking his head again. "Think your dad would agree with me."

Jethro nodded. "Absolutely. Thanks for stopping by Mike."

"No problem Probie. Take care, Tony."

"Thank you for the phone, Mike," Tony said politely.

As soon as Mike pulled away, Jethro held out his hand. "Let me have the phone Tony."

"But Dad, Mike just—"

"Trust me?" Jethro asked. "There's something about the situation…there's a secret or something here. Mike's hiding something. I'd feel better if you don't have that phone. No telling who it is calling looking for Spanky."

"Probably just somebody he pissed off," Tony said with a shrug.

"Do you want to be on the receiving end of whoever's angry with Mike?" Jethro said. "Mike's a good guy, but he's also good at pissing people off. We'll get you a new phone. But I need to take that one."

"Dad this isn't fair, it's just a dumb phone that Mike gave me to use. Why are you being so weird about this?"

"Because my gut says you need to stay far away from Spanky," Jethro said firmly.

Tony froze, his gaze locked on his dad's. "Oh," he said, passing the phone over without another word. "Can we get me a new phone before I go back to school?"

"Tomorrow," Jethro promised. "You and I will go get you a new phone tomorrow. If you feel up to it."

"I'll feel up to it!" Tony chirped. "I feel up to it right now!"

"Mall's closed this time of day on a Sunday. We'll go tomorrow."

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. "Fiiiiine," he groaned. "Dad?" his tone changed.

"Yeah?"

"Does everyone at school know what happened to me?"

"Well…Mr. Mershon knows what happened to you. And he talked to your team. I'm assuming they would have all been informed that you've been injured."

Tony flopped his head back on the back of the couch dramatically. "Great," he groaned. "Everyone totally knows. God and the way rumors get all screwed up at school…" he dropped an arm dramatically over his face. "God what a mess."

Jethro ruffled Tony's hair and smiled sympathetically. "Won't be so bad, chief," he said sympathetically. "You oughta see the other guy!"

Tony looked up at him and scowled. Sometimes Dad was so weird.

xxx

Before school started on Monday morning, Kelly stepped into the girls' bathroom on the first floor just outside the lobby of the main office. This bathroom was a huge high traffic area, always attracting large quantities of teenage girls, usually right before the bell rang. But at this early hour there was no one else in the room. Kelly carefully checked each stall and smiled to herself.

She pulled an artfully folded piece of paper out of the pocket of her jeans. She'd found Tony's stash of notes from Sarah while he was taking a nap on Saturday. She'd carefully studied the characteristics of each note: how the paper was folded, what kind of paper was used, what color pens Sarah used (always blue), how she looped her letters when she wrote her name, how she dotted her I's (with little tiny circles) and how she drew little stars and hearts around the really important things. Armed with this powerful and damning information, Kelly carefully put her plan into action. If it worked like she hoped it would—and in this bathroom on a Monday morning she had no doubts that it would be successful—then by lunchtime today Sarah and Asher's reputations would both be ruined and Tony's good reputation as being a nice kid would be restored.

With one last hopeful little look at the infamous piece of paper she took a deep breath and carelessly let it fall on the floor. Then she picked up her backpack and hurried on her way.

It wouldn't be long at all before the gossip hounds got off the bus and headed straight for this bathroom. None of them would be able to resist opening the note on the floor. And the origami which was used to fold it made it quite obvious that it was a note.

As Kelly opened the door to head out, a pair of giggling sophomore girls pulled the door from her hands, surprised by her sudden presence in front of them. "Hi!" One of them said cheerfully. "Have a great day!" the other one chirped. Neither of them knew her or her name, and she preferred it that way. They were being friendly, treating everyone they met like that.

Kelly smiled and nodded at both of them before slipping away unnoticed. She hovered outside the door, pretending to check her cell phone, listening carefully to the gaggle of girls inside and she nearly leapt for joy when she heard one of them gasp. "Ohhhhhhhhhhh!" the girl exclaimed from behind the closed door. "Looks like someone dropped a note on the floor!"

With a devious smile, Kelly turned away quickly, hoping to be long gone before the girls came out.

xxx

Later, as she walked to her third period class, her friend Lauren ran up to her. "Oh my God Kelly! Did you hear the news?" she breathlessly exclaimed.

"No…what news is that?" Kelly asked absentmindedly as she stopped at her locker and fiddled with the lock trying to get it open.

"Well you know how everyone was teasing your brother because he wouldn't sleep with Sarah?" Lauren was practically vibrating.

Kelly's expression darkened and she pulled her locker open. The whole situation pissed her off. "Yes," she said shortly, "And?"

"Ohmygod! Oh my god oh my god I can't believe no one's told you!"

"Told me what?" Kelly asked in a bored tone, pulling out the book for her next class and slamming the locker shut. Sometimes Lauren could be a little over the top with her enthusiasm. Not surprisingly she made an excellent cheerleader.

"Really! No one told you that Sarah has something?

"Has something? Like what?" Kelly asked innocently.

"You know," Lauren dropped a glance to Kelly's jeans, "_has something._" She smiled,"Like, down there, _something_."

"I don't understand what you're telling me," Kelly shook her head, trying not to smile. Oh this was too good to be true. Her plan was working perfectly!

"Geez Kells you can be so dense sometimes!" Lauren huffed. "I mean! Sarah wrote a note to Asher, telling him all about how she must have caught something from him when they had sex while she was dating Tony. Like an STD something. It's no wonder your brother wouldn't screw Sarah! And it's no wonder he broke up with her! Blech," she made a disgusted noise, "can you imagine?" Lauren shivered at the mental image.

Kelly shook her head, feeling a satisfied smile wanting to burst through her face like a sunbeam after the rain. "No," she said, wonder creeping into her tone. "No I can't imagine at all what that must be like. How did you find out about the note? You and Sarah aren't friends."

Kelly and Lauren entered their English classroom together. "Uh, no," Lauren sniped, "we aren't friends. At all. Apparently she dropped it in the girls' bathroom in the main lobby. Oh my _God_ can you imagine how embarrassing that must be?! And with a note like that how would you not take care to put it somewhere that you wouldn't lose it! I mean seriously! What an idiot!"

Kelly shook her head and blinked her eyes in amazement. Darn, she was almost as good undercover as her daddy. She thought he'd be proud. "It must be horribly embarrassing," she agreed, settling into her seat in her classroom.

Lauren settled into the seat beside her. "We've gotta be super careful with notes from now on," she prattled on. "I wouldn't want anyone to read the stuff we share privately back and forth."

"Oh I know," Kelly gushed, opening her notebook. She pulled out her blue pen and carefully walked to the trash can and threw it away. "I can't imagine how she could be so careless to drop that note in the bathroom."

"Well if she was careless enough to catch something from Asher, I'd say it shouldn't be too surprising that she was careless enough to let the cat out of the bag about it!" Lauren snarked. "What a dipshit!"

Kelly turned her attention toward the front of the room as the teacher began to speak. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a black pen and began to take notes in very neat, almost block shaped letters. Secretly she smiled to herself.

Mission accomplished.

TBC…


	6. Plan In Action

**Author's Note:** This chapter is a bit shorter, but I wanted to make sure I got something posted for my reader, Amanda, who left me the guest review. I wish you all the best in bootcamp!

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 6: Plan in Action**

At lunch on Monday, Kelly remembered she was supposed to go to the career advisors for help in trying to figure out what she wanted to do. When she was much younger, Kelly wanted to be a Marine Biologist. Later on, as her experience in school led to some wonderful teachers, she'd thought perhaps she'd enjoy being a teacher. When her mother died, she debated on picking up "the family business" and becoming a nurse.

She had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up.

There were tables set up along the lobby outside the auditorium and cafeteria with multiple agencies, schools and other organizations displayed. Several local colleges were represented, along with representatives from the food industry, banks, district and national government offices, healthcare, hospitals, teachers, child care, real estate…oh the list just went on and on.

Kelly wandered through the maze of displays, looking for something—anything—to jump out at her. She took several brochures, told a couple of people who asked what her name was (but only her first name—these people were strangers, after all)…she was jostled and shuffled around as more and more students joined her at the displays, making it difficult to really get close enough to even ask questions.

Finally, towards the end of the rows of tables, though, she saw one which made her smile. The United States Marine Corps had sent a representative and surprisingly, he didn't have anyone at his table. Kelly stepped up to the Marine's table and smiled at him. "Thank you for your service," she said kindly, "My father is a marine; inactive now, but was a gunnery sergeant."

The recruiter smiled and nodded. They began talking and discussing their families' histories in the service of the corps. Finally, Kelly stepped back. "I suppose I should get busy figuring out what I want to be when I grow up," she said sheepishly with a nervous chuckle, realizing that the lunch period was nearly over.

"And what do you think you'd enjoy?" the recruiter, whose name patch said STARNES on it asked.

"Well…I used to want to be a Marine Biologist…but ya know, I really…don't…now," Kelly said. "Then I thought maybe I'd want to teach. Then my mom died and she was a nurse…I thought about trying to fill her shoes a bit," she shrugged. "I have no idea really."

Starnes smiled. "Would you mind if I made a suggestion?" he asked.

xxx

Tony's ex-girlfriend Sarah walked around the school in a bit of a daze. All day long people had been looking at her funny, and she couldn't figure out what she'd done. There were giggles and whispers, people pointed at her, some even blushed when she looked in their direction. Others looked disgusted by her. She couldn't understand what she'd done wrong. It made no sense to her—she was one of the most popular girls in school! This rejection was undeniable. It wasn't just people she didn't know, either! Even her friends were doing this!

At lunch she found her best friend, Taylor, whom she'd been close to since grade school. But when she moved to sit beside her friend, Taylor told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't welcome to sit with her today. Or any other day. Sarah moved sadly away from the lunch table, wondering if maybe she could find someone else to sit with. Tony always sat outside, so maybe if she went out there she could find him. Then she remembered that he wasn't in school today but no one was too sure why.

As she headed to one of the picnic areas, she heard someone hiss "slut" as she walked by. She stopped and turned, but everyone was eating and not paying her any attention. She saw Asher's friends sitting at one of the tables not too far away and decided to head over there. Perhaps they'd let her sit with them.

"Hi!" she exclaimed as she approached.

One of them looked up at her, snorted in disgust, then turned back to his food. Next to him, his girlfriend sat and stared at her in horror. "Really?" she asked. "You're going to come over here and act like nothing's wrong? Seriously?"

"What are you talking about?" Sarah wailed. "All day everyone's been treating me like-like I have some kind of disease or something! What did I do?!"

"Don't you?" one of the boys sneered at her. Sarah wished she could remember Asher's friend's name.

Sarah blinked. "Don't I what?"

The girlfriend blinked. "Don't be a stupid bitch. We all know what happened. God I can't believe you dragged Asher into it. What kind of person are you?"

"I don't even know what you're talking about?" Sarah's voice wobbled slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Ohh! Oh well let me refresh your memory. It's funny how you act like such a slut but then when it bounces back on you, you've conveniently forgotten what happened!"

"What?!"

"Oh for God sakes!" the girl—Sarah thought her name was Rebecca—reached into her backpack and pulled out a folded note. "I was asked to deliver this to Asher," she said. "But first, let me refresh your memory."

"Can I see that?!" Sarah asked, panicking slightly.

"No," Rebecca said. She unfolded the note and began to read it out loud…With each word she read, Sarah's horror grew.

_Dear Asher, _

_ I love you so much and I wanted to tell you just how special our relationship is. You're always so sweet and understanding. I want you to know that Tony Gibbs and I…well our relationship is—and has always been—all talk. I just don't look at him the same way I look at you. I can't stand the thought of doing anything sexual with him—you're such a bigger and stronger man than he is…you're so sexy…I love you so much!_

_When we had our first special night together…you made my body light up with love for you and now I think my heart only beats for you. We had a perfect moment that night, and I'm so glad we shared it together. You weren't my first, but you have been my favorite! _

_There are rumors around school that Tony broke up with me because he didn't want to have sex with me. The truth is, he broke up with me because he found out the truth about me, and he was nice enough to not tell the whole world. There's something that you need to know…and I hope you'll be as supportive and understanding as you always are. The truth is…I found out…well I caught something. I know I didn't catch anything from Tony because I never did anything with him…he and I barely even kissed…I really don't know where I could have gotten it…anyway, I have clamidia…it's supposed to be totally treatable…just get a prescription for it and then you get all better! But…since we…well, ya know…since we have had so many special nights together…I want for you to just trust me and go get checked. It doesn't do any kinda real damage if you take care of it early. I'm sorry to tell you like this, but I didn't know what else to do. I love you so much though and I'm so so so so so sorry this happened. I don't know what else to say. I love you. Our love is real. I can feel it in my heart._

_I love that you are going to teach Tony a lesson for me. He needs to know that it doesn't pay to be mean and awful to people. You're so big and strong though, I have no doubts that you'll take care of him for me. You're truly amazing. I love you so much. _

_Love Sarah_

"I didn't write that!" Sarah exclaimed. "I've never heard of that before! I didn't—you can't—you can't honestly think that I—"

"That you what?" Rebecca sneered. "That someone else dreamed this whole thing up and fabricated this weird scenario where you had Asher hurt Tony in order to prove something and then turn around and tell him you've got something you can't scrub off with a brillo pad? Are you serious?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying! And if you'd just let me see it I can tell you it's not my handwriting!"

Rebecca turned the paper around and held it up for Sarah to look at. "Really?" she snapped. "That's not your handwriting?"

Sarah blinked in shock. It looked exactly like her handwriting. "But I didn't write it!" she whined.

"So first you're a cheating dirty slut. Then you catch something gross from God-only-knows-who. Then you sleep with MY friend and possibly GIVE IT TO HIM. Then you get him to beat up on your ex-boyfriend because he broke up with you because he knew you had an STD. So your ex-boyfriend is in the hospital, according to what everyone is saying, Asher's been suspended out of school for the next two weeks, and you're running around here whining like a little baby that you are completely innocent in all of this?"

"YES! I mean NO! I mean…I didn't do any of this! I didn't! I didn't even write that note! Please—please you can't give it to Asher. I'm begging you. He can't know about this!"

"Oh he's going to know about it. I'm taking it straight to his house after school. And there's nothing you can do or say to stop me."

xxx

When school let out, Kelly was surprised to see Jethro sitting in the car by himself. It was a rare treat for Daddy to pick her up from school; his work schedule usually demanded he be at the office until well after the time school let out. She'd figured Tony would come with Daddy though, and after her antics on the rumor mill that day, she was eager to tell him what had transpired.

"Hi Daddy!" Kelly tossed her backpack into the back seat and slid into the front next to her father.

Jethro kissed her on the cheek. "Hiya Kelly-bug," he smiled at her. "How's your day?"

"Oh my day was—" she caught herself—did she dare tell Daddy what had taken place? "—uh…interesting," she said lamely. "Nothin' too special to report."

"Uh huh," Jethro pulled out into traffic, and his tone indicated he didn't believe his daughter for one moment. "So what happened today? Should I be expecting a call from the principal about bloodshed in the girl's bathroom this time?" he asked mildly.

Kelly turned wide eyes on her daddy. "Of course not!"

Jethro stopped at a traffic light and pinned his gaze on her. "Spill it," he said. "I wanna know about this revenge you were exacting."

"Oh," Kelly looked at her lap. She considered lying for a split second, but knew better. "That. Uh…well."

"Kelly," Jethro said patiently, "I'm not angry at you for wanting to protect your brother. But if there is going to be any backlash from it then I would at least like a heads up," he told her.

Kelly was quiet for a couple of blocks. "I don't think anyone will know what I did," she finally murmured. "They'd have a helluva time proving it!" she turned a wicked smile on her daddy. "After all, I learned from the best."

"Oh God," Jethro groaned softly, pointing his eyes at the ceiling briefly. "Should I be worried?"

"All I did was write a note," Kelly said innocently.

"Who'd ya write it to?"

Kelly was quiet for another long pause. "Asher," she finally said. "But it's not from me." There was that wicked smile again.

"Kelly? Did you forge something?"

"Um…more like I wrote a note in someone else's name…with the intention that no one would find out it was me. You know, how people did with the scholars back in ancient times," Kelly said with a slight wince.

"So who was the note from?"

Kelly smiled. "Sarah."

Jethro braked hard. "So let me get this straight. You wrote a note to Asher and signed it from Sarah. Honey all they've gotta do is look at it and everyone will know it's not Sarah's handwriting."

"Ah," Kelly held up a finger, "but that is where you are mistaken." She chuckled. "You underestimate me."

Jethro pointed the car towards the coffee shop instead of home. "I'm listening," he said. "Lay it out for me."

"Tony saved all the notes Sarah wrote him. He even showed me where he keeps them," Kelly said. "So I borrowed one or two—just to get a look at her handwriting and what kind of pen she uses! I folded them back exactly the same way they were and put them right back where Tony would never miss them. Please don't tell him what I did, Daddy!"

"So what happened after you wrote the note?" Jethro pulled up to the drive-thru window. "One black coffee, as large as you make 'em," he ordered to the attendant. He turned back to Kelly while he waited for his drink.

"I folded it exactly how she folded all the notes she gave Tony…I mimicked her handwriting as best as I could—and did a really good job, too, I might add—and then I dropped it in the floor of the girls' bathroom. That's all I did."

"You wrote a note and dropped it in the floor. I don't think I want to know, but I have to ask. Kelly, what'd ya say in that note?"

Kelly smiled angelically. "Did you know that Asher and Sarah had a thing?"

"What kind of a thing?"

"You know, Daddy. A thing. Geez and you call yourself an investigator," she rolled her eyes good naturedly. "A relationship. A romance. A little sum'thin' on the side…a _thing."_

Jethro handed the woman at the window a couple of bucks and told her to keep the change as he accepted the giant cup of coffee. "A thing. A thing like she and Tony had?"

Kelly smiled, some of the angelic expression disappearing. "It was all in the note—about how much she loves Asher, how much she appreciates him taking care of Tony for her…and…well…I maybe ruined her reputation…" she said, without the slightest bit of regret in her voice.

"Maybe? As in you're not sure? Or as in you're positive, but don't want to admit it yet."

"Ummm…yes." Kelly nodded, purposefully not answering the question.

"Kelly," Jethro's voice held a tone of warning.

"She needs to know what Tony feels like! So does Asher! What they did to Tony was horrible! They made him feel like shit in front of the whole school! Every person there was making fun of him and talking about him—or they were threatening to beat him up for making Sarah cry! You didn't see him that day, Daddy! I've not seen Tony like that in YEARS. I had to fix it."

"Language," Jethro reminded her. "What'd you say in the note Kelly?"

"I maybe implied that she and Asher have been having sex. And I maybe implied that she could have given him a STD. And I explicitly said that the reason Tony wouldn't have sex with her was because he knew she had something but was too nice to say anything. And I mimicked her handwriting perfectly and used a pen that's different from the kind I use…seriously, Daddy. No one will know it was me. My plan is flawless."

"What happens when Sarah denies she wrote it? Because that will happen," Jethro pointed out.

Kelly laughed and Jethro cringed inwardly at how ruthless his daughter was. He was also proud, but wasn't sure it was the time to show that yet. "She already denied writing it. She told everyone who spoke to her about it—because really, gossip like _that_ was spread all over the school by _lunch_…she spent her day whining and crying and begging people to believe her when she said she didn't write it. Apparently the people who've seen the note though, have confirmed that it is, in fact, Sarah's handwriting and therefore she must be lying."

Jethro took a sip of his coffee and returned it to the cup holder. He stared straight ahead out the windshield without blinking. "Damn," he finally said.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah Bug?" he glanced sideways at her.

"I don't think I want Tony to know what I did. I thought about telling him, but I don't think it would make him happy. But really, Daddy. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I mean, he's my baby brother. And that—" she contorted her face trying not to use the language she'd prefer to describe Tony's ex-girlfriend "—that. _girl_. hurt him. Told the whole school a bunch of lies and got everyone talking about him—you know how he hates to attract attention like that. It's not like when he's playing soccer or basketball. He hates to be the center of any kind of drama. And Asher came and hurt him. And I know that I'd never win a fight against him, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and take 'em both out by fighting dirty. Is it wrong? Probably. Do I feel bad about it? Nope. Would I have a repeat performance?"

Jethro glanced over at Kelly when she didn't immediately answer her own question. He was a bit horrified by the simmering anger he saw in her expression. "Oh yes," she said dangerously. "I'd like nothing better than to make that witch hurt over and over again."

**TBC…**


	7. Down

_Special thanks to GotGoats for all your help with this chapter._

**Warning:** Nah…I'm not gonna warn ya. I'm just gonna let ya ride it out. Nothing squicky or bad. Lots of emotion.

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 7: Down**

There was a movie playing on the television that Tony wasn't really paying attention to. It was Tuesday, during school hours and everyone was gone. Jethro had to go back to work today, because the team caught a big case; Kelly was back at school again…that left Tony to sprawl on the couch and try not to move as much as possible. His ribs hurt, his back hurt, his face hurt. Everything hurt. He didn't want to take any more painkillers because they made him feel funny…he was a bit saddened that he hadn't heard from any of his friends since the week before…Sasha was curled up on the floor next to the couch and she licked his fingers sympathetically. She was such a sweet old girl; Tony couldn't imagine life without her, but he knew one day he's have to do it alone.

It was all shaping up to be a giant pity-party.

On top of that, Tony knew Kelly was up to something. He could tell by the way she looked secretively at Daddy that there was something they weren't telling him. He wondered if it had to do with school or with something else. Kelly had to work the evening before and by the time she got home Daddy had already dosed him up with painkillers and he was in bed asleep. He knew Kelly was angry about what had happened to him, but they hadn't really had a chance to talk too much about anything.

He had his brand new cell phone beside him, a glass of grape juice, and a sandwich bag filled with saltine crackers (pretty much all he'd been able to eat since having his head kicked in). He slowly pushed himself into a seated position and reached for the remote. He turned off the tv and looked at the clock on the screen. School should be letting out soon and he saw on the calendar earlier that Kelly was off work. He was off all week, thanks to his dad calling and letting his boss at the pizza shop know what happened. With his injuries he couldn't do any sort of strenuous lifting, and sometimes that dish bin he hauled around grew quite heavy. He hoped that Kelly would tell him what was going on this afternoon. Maybe without Daddy here she'd talk to him.

He knew something was going on and he didn't like being kept out of the loop.

xxx

"Ok here's the deal," Hetty said. "We're going after this man," she cued up the image of the man on the screen. "Anatoly Zhukov. Known arms dealer from Russia. One of you boys needs to infiltrate and get in good with Mr. Zhukov."

"And what will that entail?" Jethro asked.

"Extensive undercover work," Hetty said. "Whoever goes to infiltrate will need to be away for several weeks, if not months."

Jethro's jaw dropped open. "Boss, I—I can't…I mean, the kids…if it was a few days or something that'd be one thing, but…" he shook his head in disbelief at the thought of leaving his children behind. "There's just no way I can do it."

"I'll do it," Vance said, stepping up. He'd been looking for a way to establish himself as more than just a junior agent with his team. He wanted to move up the chain and he knew that the best way to do that was to take risks and chances. He had to put himself out there if he ever wanted to reap any kind of reward. "Jethro…he needs to stay with the kids. He has too much at stake to be gone for so long…plus I speak Russian," Leon said proudly.

Hetty glanced between her two agents. Seeing no opposition from Mike or Gibbs, she nodded. "Ok Leon. We'll let you take point on this one. You can do the undercover work. Your contact with us will be extremely limited though; I can't guarantee that we'll be able to get you out if you get into a bind. You'll have to document everything extensively because you will be the only one with the evidence. You must be very cautious. No one will have your six."

Jethro paled slightly, thinking of all he could lose in such a mission. It made him slightly ill to think of the possibility of losing a colleague or a teammate, but…Jesus. He had to stay back on this one. He couldn't leave Tony and Kelly.

"I understand," Leon said with a firm nod. "I assure you, I can handle it."

Hetty nodded. "Very well. Come with me. Let's get you down to the Forensics Lab so you can get your identity set up."

xxx

Kelly came in from school about 4pm. The school was alive with the gossip she'd unleashed, and she was pleased to note that Tony's name was in the clear. In fact, he was being hailed as somewhat of a hero for having been so "caring" and so "understanding" of Sarah and her…unique situation.

"Tony?" she called as she set her things down beside the door.

When she didn't hear an answer, she frowned. Sasha was curled up in a sunny spot in the living room and thumped her tail a couple of times at her as she walked past. Kelly let out a long breath. She knew Sasha well enough to know that their wonderful, loyal pet would never leave Tony's side if he weren't ok. She stopped and rubbed down the big white dog's flank a couple of times, murmuring softly to her before standing back up.

"Tony!" she called again. She headed up the stairs and noticed the bathroom light was on. The door was open though, so she didn't hesitate to poke her head in. "Tony what are you doing?" she asked.

Tony was sitting on the closed lid of the toilet with Kelly's handheld mirror in his hand. He was staring at his reflection silently, his face deeply set into a frown.

"Hey," Kelly said quietly, moving to his side and sliding a hand across the backs of his shoulders. "What's going on? You ok?"

"Hey Kelly," Tony mumbled.

"Are you ok? Are you hurting?" Tony was acting weird. Kelly bit her lower lip nervously.

Tony shrugged, then winced when it hurt, then groaned when it pulled his split lip. "I'm fine," he grumbled.

Kelly knelt in front of him and put her hands lightly on his knees. "What's up?" she asked. "You never lie to me."

"I'm not lying," Tony said sullenly.

Kelly crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Tony leaned back a little bit, his expression closed down. He lifted the mirror and looked at himself again. "My nose is all crooked now," he said softly.

"You nearly got your head kicked in and you're worried about your nose being a little crooked?" Kelly exclaimed.

Tony looked hurt for a brief moment before he hauled himself to his feet, nearly stumbling over his sister. "Whatever Kelly," he mumbled. "Just leave me alone."

Kelly was on her feet, hurrying behind her brother, but stopped short when Tony slammed the door in her face. Her mouth set into a grim line and she stood there for a long moment, debating what to do. She raised her hand and knocked, listening closely for a response. When she didn't get one, she rested her hand flat on his door. "Tony?" she called uncertainly. "Are you ok?"

"Just go away," he mumbled.

"I don't think I can do that. What's going on?" Kelly asked. She put her hand on the knob but didn't turn it.

"Nothing. I'm _fine,_" Tony snapped.

"Do you want me to call Daddy?" Kelly asked. She was really getting worried about Tony now, but he wasn't budging and she respected his privacy enough to not barge into his room.

"I don't care what you do," Tony finally answered. He sounded so tired, so sad, it nearly broke Kelly's heart.

"Are you hungry?" Kelly asked. "I could make yo—"

"No," Tony answered. "Just go away Kelly."

Kelly stood there for a long moment, one hand on the door, the other reaching for the cell phone in her pocket. She didn't know what she should do. Finally, she headed down the stairs to begin making dinner. She'd give Tony a few minutes then try again. If that didn't work, she'd call Daddy.

xxx

Upstairs, Tony sat on his bed, hugging his pillow. He didn't want to be around anyone, didn't want to explain how he was feeling. He didn't really understand why he was so down today, hoped perhaps it was just a phase or a side effect of the concussion or the pain medication. More than anything he wanted to call Sarah, wanted to hear what was going on at school, wanted for someone at school to notice he wasn't there enough to make a phone call to inquire if he was alright. He didn't have many friends at school, but he had a few. Where were they? Had Sarah spread the rumors so terrifically that even his so-called friends didn't want to be around him now?

Tony sighed and eased over to lie on his side. He wondered if Asher would hate him for getting him into trouble for what he did. Tony still thought maybe he deserved what he got since he made Sarah cry. He didn't tell anyone that though. Everyone was having a hard enough time accepting that he'd gotten hurt—again—and that he'd needed rescuing—again. He was tired of looking pitiful and weak. He'd felt that way his whole life, felt like he needed his dad his whole life. Well, he still needed his dad. He wasn't going to just walk away from the love and acceptance Jethro had always shown him. But he also didn't want everyone to think that he couldn't take care of himself and couldn't stand up for himself without one of his family members shoving him out of the way and protecting him.

Didn't they understand what that made him look like? Sure it was nice to know someone had his six, but Jesus, it would also be nice for everyone else to know he had them, but that he was self-sufficient too.

He felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. His broken nose would never look the same, and while he tried very hard not to be vain, he was also acutely aware that the biggest reason he fit in with his group of friends at all was because of his looks. His family didn't have an especially grand amount of money; he didn't—and wouldn't—have a car on his sixteenth birthday unless he bought it himself. He was a bit of a nerd; he loved old classic movies and television shows, and didn't particularly enjoy the new popular flicks. He did not have a passion for shopping or clothes, though he disguised that well under his hard earned wardrobe that he diligently supplied himself with.

The short of it was that he was tired. Tired of working so hard to fit in with a world that wasn't his. Tired of trying to do everything and be everything people thought he should do and be. Tired of trying to always be so freaking perfect.

Some days, he really just wanted to be plain old geeky, nerdy Tony Gibbs.

To his horror, a tear slid down his cheek and he strangled the tears off with a harsh gasping cry. A long distant voice echoed quietly through his thoughts, _DiNozzos don't cry._ He was more Gibbs than DiNozzo on any given day, but deep down he knew he was still partially a product of the environment to which he'd been spawned. The environment the universe had seen fit to rescue him from. He'd never mentioned it to his family, was sure they wouldn't understand, and he never wanted to hurt those people whom he loved so much. He didn't want them to think he wanted to go back there or that he missed being with the DiNozzos—that was surely not the case.

He swiped at the tear, justifying it by his eyes watering from the hard blows he'd taken several days before. The light was irritating them. They would stop and they didn't do it all the time. He was absolutely not crying. He would not cry. Not over Sarah. Not over not having any friends. Not over his pathetic situation.

_DiNozzos don't cry._

Tony sat up and grabbed a tissue to clean his face up with. He needed to go downstairs. He needed to prove to Kelly that he was _fine_, dang it. And he needed to do it before she called Daddy.

But the thoughts of having to muster up a happy face and pretend for everyone that he was fine…it just seemed too harrowing. Today, it was too damn hard. Kelly may call Daddy and part of Tony wondered if that wouldn't be a good thing. He wondered if he should try to go to the basement and work on the boat. He wondered if he could talk to his dad about any of this stuff. He wondered if he should. Tomorrow Tony would insist on going back to school. But tonight…tonight maybe he'd just stay in his room and feel sorry for himself.

xxx

Kelly paced nervously in the living room, clutching her cell phone tightly, trying to decide what to do. She didn't know if she should go check on Tony again, call Daddy…she didn't know what to do. It was all a big mess, but it was also obvious that someone needed to do something.

"Ok," she muttered to herself, a glance at the clock telling her 20 minutes had passed since she'd left Tony. That was five minutes longer than she'd told herself she'd wait. She quickly pocketed her cell phone, checked the window to make sure Daddy wasn't home yet (he wasn't) and then headed for the stairs. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she headed for Tony's room. She hesitated lightly at the door for a moment, listening carefully before knocked softly.

When there was no answer, Kelly's already nervous stomach roared to life. She and Tony had been taught by their daddy to listen to gut feelings. She knocked again, louder and more urgently this time. "Tony!" she called. "Can I come in?"

When she still received no answer, she pushed open the door. She was giving him the benefit of the doubt and wanted to check on him before she completely panicked and called Daddy. If she did call Daddy, she'd need more information than she currently had anyway. She took a deep breath and stepped inside the room. The lights were off and in the spring evening, was still lit by daylight only enough to make out the figure of Tony curled pitifully on his side on the bed. He was absolutely silent, perfectly still, the only movement Kelly could see was his breathing. Well that was a relief.

"Tony?" her voice was barely audible in the dim room. She frowned when he didn't answer her and stepped closer to the bed. "Tony?" she asked again, resting her hand lightly on his ankle.

His eyes were closed, but the tear tracks were easily visible. A rumpled tissue was clutched in one hand near his face. His face was deepset into a frown and his entire body radiated misery and vulnerability.

"Tony?" she asked again. She sat down on the side of the bed beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't respond. He wasn't sleeping, was much too tense for that. But it was obvious he was shutting the world out, avoiding whatever was bothering him…or dwelling on it so fully that it had completely taken him over. He didn't answer and she felt her heart break a little. She twisted her hands into fists, wishing like hell she knew what was bugging him, wishing she knew how to make it better.

She sat with him for a few minutes, debating with herself, arguing internally, trying to decide what to do. "Tony I'm gonna go call Daddy," she finally murmured. She didn't touch him; his entire posture screamed for her not to, even though he hadn't moved. "I'm really worried about you. You're really scaring me," she said. "I'm…I'm sorry if that makes you mad. I just…I have to," she said. She stood and hurried out of the room without a backwards glance.

Tony felt a fresh round of silent tears stinging his eyes as the bedroom door shut. He felt his lower lip tremble slightly and grimaced as the tears trekked down his face. _DiNozzos don't cry. _He scrubbed the tissue angrily over his face. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to make these feelings go away. He felt like his house of cards was falling down. He had no idea how to even begin to build that back up.

xxx

Jethro was knees deep in information he'd dug up on this character that Leon was going to be chasing after when his cell phone rang. He considered not answering it. He was so focused on reading the information. If he couldn't go in and do the op himself, he would make damn for sure that his teammate was able to have as much information as possible when he went.

The phone rang a second ring and Jethro contemplated not answering it. He had a limited amount of time to get this information together. He needed to remain focused so that Leon would—

"Jethro! Answer the damn phone!" Hetty growled from her desk.

Jethro picked up the phone and didn't even look at it before he flipped it open. "Yeah, Gibbs," he said, still reading the info on the screen.

"_Daddy?"_ Kelly's voice was shaking slightly; she sounded horribly upset and it stopped Jethro cold.

"Kelly? What's wrong?" Hetty's head snapped up.

"_I'm sorry Daddy…I know you're working and you sound busy, but…"_

"Kelly what is it?"

"_I…I don't know,"_ she breathed. _"Something is wrong with Tony. He's…I don't even know how to describe it."_

"Try!" Jethro barked. "Please," he amended himself gently when he realized he could nearly hear his daughter flinch in his ear. "What's going on, Bug?" he asked. The quest for information was temporarily on hold.

"_He's in bed. But when I got home he was in the bathroom. He's…I don't know, he's really upset. Like something bad has happened. He's in bed…he's not asleep, but he won't talk to me. And he's been crying,"_ she whispered, sounding almost guilty to admit it.

"Are you sure?" Jethro's voice was low, but so serious it caused Hetty to stop working and approach his desk.

"_Yeah Daddy,"_ Kelly whimpered. _"I'm sure. And he never cries. He's…I don't know what to do."_

"Ok. Ok give me a few minutes to figure everything out. I'll…" he looked up at Hetty, who nodded, already knowing what the request would be. "I'll be home as soon as I can. If something changes call me. Hang in there baby girl."

"_Please hurry Daddy,"_ she whispered.

Jethro hung up the phone and looked up at Hetty. "I don't know what to do," he said exasperatedly. "I need to finish getting this information for Leon…but…something's going on with Tony. Kelly said he's in bed and he's crying, but he won't talk to her or tell her what's bothering him."

"How's he doing after the beating?" Hetty kept her voice low. She knew how torn Jethro was. Part of the reason she was so forgiving of her agent's need to occasionally take five out to take care of the kids and not remain 100% focused was because he was such a damn fine agent. She knew he'd work out a way to still get the information to Leon before he flew out to Moscow.

"I don't really know," Jethro shrugged. "He's been so quiet. I think it really did a number on him though," he said, tapping his temple lightly to indicate that most of the damage he'd sustained was not physical.

"Is he back in school yet?"

Jethro shook his head. "Hasn't felt up to going…I haven't felt like it's safe enough to let him go back either," he said sheepishly.

"Perhaps you need to consider why that is," Hetty said wisely. "Take the information you have with you and your laptop. Work from home and go find out what's on with your boy. Leon isn't leaving for 48 hours yet, so there is time."

"Are you sure?" Jethro asked, torn between abandoning his team and his family. Not for the first time, he silently cursed Hernandez for stealing his wife away from him.

Hetty smiled gently. "I'm sure. Call us if you need us. Call me when you have the information together."

"I won't let you down," Jethro promised.

"Are you still here?" Hetty asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

xxx

Jethro burst in the front door of the house in a flurry of trench coat, laptop bag and briefcase. He looked around and didn't see Kelly anywhere. He figured she was probably upstairs with Tony.

"Kelly! Tony! I'm home!" he called, toeing off his shoes and heading for the stairs.

Kelly was sitting on the floor across from Tony's bedroom door with her knees drawn up to her chin and her arms wrapped around her long legs. "He's just lying in there, Daddy," she whispered, gesturing helplessly at the partially open door. "I don't know what to do for him."

Jethro smiled kindly down at her and held out a hand for her. "Why don't you head downstairs and order us some dinner? I'll go check on Tony and see if we can get him up and moving around. Did he seem like he was in pain?"

Kelly shook her head. "Not really. I mean no more than he has been. He was looking in the mirror in the bathroom. He just seems so sad."

Jethro kissed her forehead. "Ok Baby Girl. We'll fix it. Go help me figure out dinner, yeah? Whatever you come up with will be wonderful."

Kelly nodded, feeling a bit more fortified with her Daddy there to support her. "Take care of him, ok? I don't think he's ok."

Jethro nodded. "I promise." He watched as Kelly headed downstairs before taking a deep breath and then turned and moved purposefully into Tony's room.

Tony was lying on his side, just as he'd been for some time now. He was curled into a loose fetal position that did not look at all comfortable with the injuries Jethro knew he had. His eyes were closed and he was frowning. The tear tracks stood out on his face like neon lines and drew Jethro to his son like a magnet. He knelt down on one knee and brushed the backs of his fingers lightly over Tony's temple and into his hair. "Tony?" he whispered.

Jethro's heart broke a little when his boy opened his eyes. He didn't speak, just stared mournfully at him for a long moment before closing his eyes again. Jethro frowned. He reached out and shook Tony's shoulder lightly. "Tony. Eyes open. C'mon son. Talk to me."

Tony didn't respond, but his face twisted up and Jethro's gut clenched when he saw the silent tears beginning to track down Tony's face. Tony didn't cry often, only when he was especially down or broken. If he wasn't…well he didn't cry often. "Tony I need you to open your eyes," he said quietly. "You're worrying me son. Worrying Kelly too. She called me, asked me to come home. What's going on yeah?"

Tony slowly pushed himself up to sit and Jethro took the opportunity to insert himself between Tony and the pillow, sitting beside him. He wrapped an arm lightly around Tony's shoulders and didn't speak, wanting to give his boy the space and time he needed to work out what he wanted to say.

They sat that way for a long time, and Jethro's concern continued to grow as he watched the clock on the nightstand slowly roll past 15 minutes. "Tony," he finally said. "Do you need a doctor?"

Tony looked up at him and stared at him for a long moment. Finally he dropped his gaze to his lap, and his entire body seemed to curl in on itself. "Something's wrong," he mumbled, so quietly Jethro nearly missed it.

Jethro's gut fired to life, even as he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief at having finally gotten a response. "Can you tell me about that?" he asked gently.

Tony drew one knee up close to his chest, and he winced when it stretched his injuries. He dropped his forehead onto his raised knee and sighed. "I…everything's broken," he whispered.

Jethro cocked his head to the side as he tried to understand what was going on. "Should I call Ducky?" he asked.

Tony looked up at him and Jethro hadn't seen fear in his eyes in a long time. He shrugged sadly. "I don't know," he mumbled. "But I just…" he shrugged again.

"How long have you been feeling like this? You seemed ok this morning. Did something happen?"

Tony shrugged again. "Is Sasha ok?" he asked suddenly.

Jethro blinked at the non sequitur. "Sasha? She's fine. Why?"

Tony closed his eyes and bowed his head again. "She's getting so old," he whispered. "She…she's my only friend Daddy," he choked out.

Jethro pulled Tony close to him and rested his chin on top of his boy's head. Tony was not the sort of kid to be overly dramatic, so for him to voice concerns like this that seemed entirely melodramatic…Jethro knew that probably wasn't the case. "I thought you had a lot of friends?" he said conversationally.

Tony leaned heavily against his dad and didn't answer for a long time. "They…I'm not like them," he finally said. "It's hard to explain."

"Would you like me to call Ducky? Or Jackie?"

Tony looked up at him, his normally expressive green eyes were dull and dark. "Maybe…maybe both?" he whispered. "Everything's broken," he said again.

Jethro pulled him in close and hugged him tightly. "Ok," he said. "Ok we'll fix it. I've got your six Tony."

xxx

Ducky was in the forensics lab with Hetty and the rest of the team when his cell phone rang. "Oh dear I must take this call," he said. Hetty shot him a look and Ducky nodded. "It's Jethro," he reported. He flipped open the phone. "Hello Jethro. What can I do for you, dear boy?"

"_Hey Duck. Can ya come by on your way home? Or the first chance you get? Got a bit of a situation here. It's Tony."_

"Yes, Henrietta mentioned that Anthony was having a rough time of it. Is he talking at all now?"

"_Yeah. Told me that everything's broken."_

"Oh dear. Yes, as soon as I can break away I will come straight over."

"_Thanks Duck."_

"Call if you need anything. I should be there within the hour."

"_Got it,"_ Jethro hung up the phone before Ducky could respond further.

Ducky let out a long sigh and turned back to the information on the alias they were creating for Leon. "That poor boy," he murmured.

"What's going on with him?" Leon asked.

"We aren't really sure. It sounds like he is horribly depressed."

"I could call Jackie and see if she's busy. If she's not I bet she'd go over to see Tony."

"Do it," Hetty said. "Then we can focus on this and get it finished quickly so we can go help Jethro if he needs it."

Leon looked at his friends and colleagues. "I can stay here and keep going over the information if you guys want to go check on Tony?" he offered.

Hetty shook her head and patted Leon on the shoulder. "No dear. We will focus on getting you prepared. Tony is with Jethro. He will be fine. Once you are settled, we will go. But for now we will focus on preparing you. Now let's focus. We've got to keep moving, the clock is ticking. This window for insertion won't last forever."

xxx

Kelly crept back up the stairs after she called the Chinese Takeout and Delivery place. She ordered several of their favorites and put it on the account they had set up with the restaurant. She poked her head in the door of Tony's bedroom and looked in on her Daddy and brother. Tony was leaning against Jethro, but he had that same blank look on his face that he'd had all afternoon. The look spoke of too many emotions for his face to hold, so instead it settled on no expression at all. His gaze was distant, seemingly fixed on the wall opposite him, but Kelly could tell he really wasn't seeing anything. Jethro was sitting with him, holding him, his chin resting on top of Tony's head. Tony's hands clung to one of Jethro's forearms.

"Hey," she said quietly. She didn't know why she was speaking so softly. It was almost as though the quiet was so dense her voice was unable to penetrate it. "I um…I ordered dinner. From the Chinese place. I hope that's ok. I got everyone's favorites and extra egg rolls too."

Jethro smiled. "That's perfect, Sweetheart. Have you seen or heard from Ducky?"

Kelly shook her head. "No. Should I have?"

"I spoke with him on the phone a bit ago. He is going to head this way when he gets off work."

Kelly turned when she heard the doorbell ring. "Maybe that's him."

"Want me to check?" Jethro asked. It was little things like that which posed as a haunting reminder of how different things were compared to how they used to be.

Kelly looked at Jethro and Tony for a long moment then shook her head. "No you stay with Tony. I'm fine. It's either the take out dude or Ducky."

"Yell if you need me," Jethro said.

Kelly hurried down the stairs and looked out the window. Smiling, but surprised, she quickly opened the door. "Hi Jackie!" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Leon called. Said Tony's having some trouble. He, Hetty and Ducky thought maybe I could help until Ducky can get here."

Jackie was an adolescent and young adult counselor and ran a successful practice not too far from where Jethro and the kids lived. When her husband called and told her what he knew, she'd quickly shooed everyone out and hurried over. The Gibbs children held a special place in her heart, had for years.

"What seems to be going on?" she asked Kelly as the young lady took her jacket and hung it up.

"I'm not really sure. He's just acting weird. Like, being super quiet. And he was crying. He cried the other night when he and Sarah broke up…but other than that…I don't think he's cried at all since Mom died," Kelly said hollowly.

"Do you think he'd talk to me?" Jackie asked.

Kelly shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Daddy's upstairs with him. He's just staring. It's so un-Tony."

Jackie smiled. "And how are you?"

Kelly smiled. "I'm doing pretty good. I mean outside of my brother getting the snot beat outta him."

"You and I should talk too," Jackie winked. "I want to hear about your plans for next year."

Kelly blinked. "I don't have any plans for next year," she said quietly.

"I bet you have more figured out than you're letting on," Jackie said kindly. "I'm going to go check on Tony. Would you like to come?"

Kelly shook her head. "Nah. I'll stay here and wait for Ducky and the Chinese food delivery guy."

Jackie patted her on the shoulder and headed for the stairs.

Kelly stared after her friend, wondering how Jackie always seemed to know Kelly's secrets before anyone else did.

TBC…


	8. Identity Crisis

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the delay on this chapter…does anyone else HATE! Windows 10? Enjoy. Angst ahead.

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 8: Identity Crisis**

Jackie Vance climbed the stairs slowly, wondering what she would see when she arrived in Tony's bedroom. She, like many others, had a soft spot in her heart for the shy young boy and his big sister. Tony was growing into a such a nice, popular, well-rounded, polite and intelligent young man, Jackie was eager to see how he'd turn out when he was grown. The lights were dim in the hallway, and it had begun to get dark outside by now. She knew from talking to Leon that Tony had been having some trouble for most of the afternoon and everyone was hopeful she'd be able to help him.

She paused in the doorway and took in the sight. Jethro was sitting with is back against the headboard, facing Tony's profile. One of Jethro's arms was hooked loosely across the front of his shoulders—as if to prevent him from falling forwards; the other hand rubbed lightly up and down the pale young man's back. His head rested on top of Tony's, cheek pressed to the top of the boy's head and facing in the opposite direction from Tony. Tony was facing the wall, staring blankly at it and his hands were hooked lightly over his daddy's forearms—as though holding him in place. It was a demonstration of strength, of trust, and of love that nearly moved the woman to tears immediately.

Jackie tapped twice on the door and poked her head inside. "Hello," she called quietly. Jethro blinked and looked up at her, his eyes the only part of his body changing position. Tony didn't respond at all other than to close his eyes, breaking the blank stare he'd held.

"Hey Jackie. What are you doing here?" Jethro asked. His voice was pitched low, as though he didn't want to disturb the quiet.

Jackie stepped forward into the room, dropping to sit with Tony between her and Jethro, each of them facing his profile. "Leon called," she informed him. "Said the team is worried about Mr. Tony here. It will be a while yet before they can break away, so they asked if I could come provide some extra support until then."

"I'm glad you're here," Jethro said, relieved to have help. Times like this always drove home just how difficult it was to be a single parent. He ached for his wife and silently cursed the man who stole her from him. "Hey Tony," he turned his attention to the boy nearly sitting in his lap. "With me Tony?"

Tony slowly opened his eyes and looked at Jethro. Jethro offered him a gentle smile and encouraging nod. "Got some company," he said casually. "Jackie's here. Remember we talked about calling her?"

"Did you call her?" Tony asked, wondering if he was cracking up. Did he miss that?

Jethro—to Tony's relief—shook his head. "No son. Leon called her. The team is worried about you."

Tony thought about this and tried to understand why the team would know what he was doing. "Why?" he asked when he was unable to figure it out.

"Kelly called me at work and asked me to come home. Kind of set everyone into action for worrying about you," Jethro said kindly.

"She shouldn't have done that!" Tony suddenly exclaimed. "You said you caught a big case! You said you had to be at work!"

"I did and we do have a big case. But son you are so much more important than a case or the job. You know that, right?"

Tony nodded slowly after a moment. "Yeah," he said. "Just didn't mean for you to be pulled away."

"Nonsense. There's nothing to worry about as far as that is concerned. Now. Why don't you tell Jackie what you told me," Jethro suggested. The order in his tone was unmistakable though.

Tony looked up at Jackie. "Hi Jackie," he said quietly.

Jackie rubbed a hand lightly over his shoulder and smiled. "Hi Sweetheart. What's going on with you, eh? Hear you're having a rough day."

Tony was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he dropped his gaze and shrugged. "Don't really know," he mumbled. "Everything's…everything's broken."

"He keeps saying that," Jethro interjected in a low voice. "Not sure what he means by it though." He gave Tony a little reassuring squeeze.

"Tony can you tell us more about that? More about how everything is broken?" Jackie prompted.

Tony shrugged and looked at the wall again. "Just…I don't even know where to start," he whispered. "Everything is so messed up."

"Let's take it one little piece at a time. Do you feel comfortable with that?"

Tony shrugged noncommittally but nodded his agreement.

"Let's talk about school," Jackie said. "You were hurt at school."

Tony nodded again. "Yeah," he said hoarsely.

"Is there something else going on with school?"

Tony stared at his lap, twisting his fingers nervously. "My nose is all crooked now," he finally mumbled. He looked up at Jackie to let her see it.

Jackie looked at the boy's blackened eyes and his slightly asymmetrical nose. "I see what you're saying," Jackie nodded. "I'm not sure what that has to do with school though? Can you unpack it for me?"

Tony heaved a deep breath and, if possible, his shoulders drooped even more. He let out a mournful sigh and closed his eyes. "It's just…the people I hang out with at school? They aren't…they aren't really people I can say are my friends. I get included…invited along…whatever, because they think I look good. They don't really like me though—I hear all the time about how I need to change who I am and what I like and what a loser I am because I don't want to spend every weekend at the mall or whatever. I don't…" he broke off suddenly, swallowing hard and twisting his face up. "I don't have any real friends. And now that I look like this…this freak? I won't even have those people who pretend to be my friends."

"Tony I didn't know you weren't making friends," Jethro said gently. "You always made it sound like you have so many friends. Why didn't you tell me, son?"

Tony shrugged again. "And then this whole stupid mess with Sarah…I didn't sleep with her. I didn't want to. I don't love her as much as I think someone should before they do…that. And I was scared she'd get pregnant and she wouldn't be honest with me about whether or not she had birth control. I took sex-ed in class. I know sometimes condoms don't work. I'm not…" he shook his head nervously, "I'm not ready to be a dad…and I know how my luck runs."

Jackie had to admit Tony may have a point there. "What happened with you two when you told her you didn't want to have sex?"

"She broke up with me. But then she told everyone that I dumped her. The whole school was talking about it…it's…that's why I got beat up in the first place."

"Do you feel safe to go back to school?" Jackie asked suddenly.

Tony looked up at her. "What?"

"Have you been to school since you were beat up?"

"No," Tony shook his head.

"Do you feel safe to go back?"

Tony blinked. "I…I don't know," he whispered. "I haven't thought about it."

"What's your gut say?" Jethro asked.

Tony looked up at his dad. "I don't know if I can go back," he whispered. "I mean, I like my classes and teachers and all…but…I don't know…I don't know how to explain it."

Jethro pulled Tony back into a loose embrace. Tony leaned pitifully against his dad. What was he going to do? He needed help with this decision…he didn't know what to do. "Just…Dad just tell me what I should do," he mumbled. "I don't…I don't know what to do."

"I wish it was that easy," Jethro said. "I don't think I can make this call without your input though."

"I just…I mean I've been out of school all week. I'm not stupid; people are surely talking about what happened…but…I mean I haven't heard from any of my so-called friends. No one has called me…not at all. My phone number hasn't changed. Our house number hasn't changed. Why hasn't anyone called me? They usually call…it's like…it's like I have been building this house of cards…I play all these sports, and pretend to be this super popular guy that everyone wants around…and now it's…well it's like everything's falling apart. This whole perfect little world that I created for myself? It's disintegrating. I don't know how to do it now…I don't know how to fix it back…" Tony let out a heavy sob and leaned heavier on Jethro, hanging onto his forearm again. "I'm sorry Daddy!" he wailed. "I just…I don't know…what to do…" he closed his eyes and sobbed hard for several moments before clutching weakly at his chest with one hand. Jethro knew the bruised ribs would protest at crying that hard. It was bound to be painful.

"Ok, ok take it easy," Jethro soothed gently, looking at Jackie for guidance. How the hell was he supposed to handle this?!

"Tony," Jackie said, her tone encouraging, "can you explain to your dad why you felt like you needed to create this perfect little world, as you called it?"

Tony pulled away and stood up. He walked around the room for a moment, shoving his fingers through his untidy hair and trying to regain some composure. "You just…you work so hard to take care of us," he finally mumbled, turning to look at Jethro. "You have this super cool, dangerous job…and you probably don't want to work as much as you do, but you do it to take care of us…you work so hard for us…" Tony shook his head. "I just wanted you to not have to worry about me…and I thought…I thought maybe if I was the kid everyone wanted to be like…you wouldn't have to worry about me. I do ok in my classes and get pretty good grades…I play all those sports…and I thought if you thought I was a popular kid with lots of friends that you'd…" he stopped and swallowed hard, a fresh round of tears beginning.

Jethro moved to Tony then, and put his hands lightly on his shoulders, giving him a gentle shake. "You thought I'd what," he continued for him gently. "Finish what you were going to say, son. It's alright. I can take it. Don't bottle it up."

"I thought if I did all those things…was this perfect kid…maybe…maybe you'd be proud of me," Tony whispered, looking at his shoes. "But I even screwed that up!"

Jethro pulled him into a tight hug then. "Oh my Tony," he murmured, kissing the boy on top of the head and hugging him tightly. "Have I not done a good job of letting you know how proud of you I am? God, Tony you amaze me every day! I am SO proud of you. I thought you were playing all those sports because you wanted to—I didn't ever mean for you to think you _had_ to! And your friends…ah God Tony, how'd we get here, huh?"

"I am just trying to do the best I can," Tony's voice wobbled. "I want to hold it all together, but this thing with Sarah," he stopped and wiped his nose on the back of his hand and sniffled hard. "It just…it screwed everything up. I don't know how to put it back together. I don't know if I _can_ put it back together again…"

"You don't have to put it back together," Jackie said from where she was seated on the bed. She, like Jethro, was curious about why Tony felt the need to live this imaginary life. "All you have to do is relax and be yourself. Why did you feel like you needed to make up stories about school for your dad?" she asked gently.

Jethro shot her a dark look. The unspoken connotation was that Tony had been lying to them…which he had, but it seemed to not be in a malicious way…but he didn't want Tony to think he was angry at him. He wasn't. Confused, maybe. Perhaps a little hurt, but not angry.

Tony looked horribly guilty and tried to pull away from Jethro. Jethro refused to let go. "Talk to me, Tony," he whispered into the boy's hair. "Did I do something to make you feel like you needed to pretend to be someone you aren't?"

Tony leaned back into his daddy's warm embrace, thinking of how safe it had always been. His dad always had his six. He shook his head. No, Jethro hadn't done anything to make him want to do this except be this super-perfect dad. He deserved to have a super-perfect kid. A voice drifted through his mind then, the same voice that was drifting through his mind earlier. It spoke on the wings of a memory and Tony shuddered.

"Am I a screw up?" he whispered, looking fearfully up at his dad. All he'd ever wanted was to be a kid his dad would never be disappointed in. He didn't even get that right.

Jethro's eyes widened. Tony didn't talk about himself like that—hadn't in years—so he figured that must be coming from a memory. "Tony? Son, no…no of course you aren't. Why would you even think that?"

Tony shrugged. "I just want to be perfect for you, Dad. And I messed it all up. Everything's broken…" tears filled his eyes again. "I'm so tired," he whispered, sagging against Jethro.

Jethro recalled what Tony said in the hospital on Saturday morning about being tired. "Can you tell me more about that?" he asked.

From the bed, Jackie listened, intrigued. Oh, she'd love to spend some time one-on-one with Tony talking to him about some of the things he had to say. She figured they must be remnants from his life before the Gibbses adopted him. It was obvious they hadn't come from Jethro or Shannon.

Jethro guided them over to sit on the bed again, and Tony leaned heavily against Jethro, obviously physically exhausted, though Jackie was willing to bet that wasn't the only exhaustion this kid was facing.

"I'm so tired," Tony whispered again. "I've been trying to hold it all together for so long…to be this perfect kid for you…Dad you are such an amazing dad—I just…I think you deserve a better kid than me," Tony said in a small voice.

Memories of Tony when he was very young flooded Jethro's mind and he recalled how insecure his child had been then. They'd worked with him for years, with some bumps along the way, to improve on that. Had they failed him? Had they only taught him he needed to try to be something other than who he was in order to make them proud? Jethro realized that his son was in true crisis here. He had to get this right.

"Tony can I tell you something?" Jethro asked. When Tony nodded, Jethro hugged him a little tighter and rested his chin on the top of his boy's head. "You know we adopted you," he began. He was not always good with words, so he hoped he didn't screw this up. Tony nodded against his chest though. Yes, he knew that. He'd been only five years old when they found him, and they'd adopted him a year later. "We adopted you because we loved you so much—the first time I laid eyes on you I told your mom that we had to bring you home with us; we had to help you. We adopted you because we loved you for who you are. We picked you out of every kid in the world who needed a home. We weren't going to have any other children than Kelly until we met you. You made us change our minds right then and there about that because of how amazing you are. You're still that kid Tony. That special little boy whom we found, whom we took home with us. And I'll tell ya. Right now? I'd do it all again."

Tony looked up at him, awestruck. "Really?" he sniffled quietly. "Really you mean it? You'd still adopt me again? Even after I…"

"Yes," Jethro cut him off without waiting for him to finish the sentence. "Yes I'd do it all over again. Mom would too, if she was still here. You are my son. You were meant to be my son. I don't want any other kid than you to be my son. I don't want a shiny, perfect imitation of you, Tony. I want you to be real, and I want you to be comfortable. If that means you only have one friend in the world, then that's fine with me. If that means you want to quit playing sports and do something else, or if you want to come home from school and stick your nose in a comic book and not come out until the next day, that's fine with me. What will make me happy, what will make me proud, is for you to figure out what it is that makes _you _happy, and to embrace those things. I will help you if you need me to. But this…living a double life like you've been doing…you don't need to do that. Not for my benefit. I love you son. I love you just how you are, no matter how perfect or imperfect that may be. None of us is perfect. Not at all. And we don't expect you to be. I don't expect you to be. I expect you to be my little Tony," he smiled kindly. "And be the best Tony you can be. That will be good enough for me ok?"

Tony remembered how his Dad used to call him "My little Tony" when he was small and he smiled. "You haven't called me that in a long time," he said softly, feeling a wave of exhaustion run over him. He closed his eyes tiredly, still in his dad's embrace.

"You're not so little anymore," Jethro said with a mock-grunt. "You're kinda growing up on me here, son."

Tony's smile grew, then faded. "I'm sorry I lied to you," he mumbled.

"Well I gotta tell ya Tony. You've learned our rules well," Jethro chuckled. "You've taken 'always be specific when you lie' to a whole new level there. You don't need to apologize to me Tony. What you can do to show me that you're hearing what I'm telling you, is to quit living this double life. Be Tony. I promise you that's good enough for me. That's all I want you to do is to be who you are. I don't care if you're the most popular kid in class, or if you're a hermit living on top of a mountain," Tony chuckled and Jethro squeezed him a little tighter. "What will make you happy son? Right now. What can we do to help you?"

Jackie had about a million questions she'd love to ask, but knew they wouldn't be well-received right now. She was there to support Jethro, and he was doing a fabulous job with Tony. She wondered if her presence was even needed, but she didn't make any moves to leave.

Tony leaned against his dad's shoulder for a few minutes. He didn't speak, was obviously thinking, and was obviously exhausted. "I want to keep playing soccer," he finally mumbled. "I really like it…I don't really want a girlfriend…and I don't really want to go back to school though…I just…no one will understand if I suddenly…am different. I don't know if I even know who I am…" his voice trembled slightly.

"They'll adjust," Jackie said. "May take some time, but—"

"But they'll never trust me because they'll think I'm lying to them all the time," Tony snapped. "I'm not ever going to have any friends at this school." He heaved a heavy sigh.

"I have an idea," Jethro said. "What if we finish out the school year here, and over the summer we'll look for a new school for you ok? One where you don't know anyone and can make a fresh start and be yourself this time. How's that sound?" Plus it would get Tony away from those kids who hurt him. Double win, as far as Jethro was concerned.

Tony looked up at him. "You'd let me switch schools?"

"On the condition that we don't have to have this discussion about being yourself again," Jethro said in a warning tone. "It isn't healthy to live like that Tony. You're seeing that now. You're exhausted because you've been living a double life for too long. It's like you've been undercover. For a little while it's ok, but after that…if you do it for too long? You begin to lose sight of who you are, and it makes it really difficult to stop doing it. And if you're constantly switching back and forth between your real self and your 'undercover' self…well that's exhausting. It's all got to come down sometime."

"Think we're there," Tony muttered.

Jethro smiled sadly and ran his fingers through his boy's hair. "I think so too," he said, "but we'll get you through it. And we're not going to do this again. No more identity crises please ok?"

Tony smiled. "Probably not for another decade or so at least."

Jethro nodded. "At least."

xxx

Kelly was sitting in the living room going over the paperwork she'd gotten at Career Day at school the other day, when the doorbell rang. She set the packet of information aside and placed her lo-mein noodles on the coffee table. Daddy had come downstairs long enough to pay the delivery guy, kiss his daughter on the head and check on her, tell her that Hetty and Ducky were supposed to come by, then he'd returned to Tony's side where he'd remained for most of the evening. She wanted to go check on Tony, but she also knew how much he valued his privacy. She decided she'd give him space for now then check on him before bed.

Peeking out the door, she smiled when she saw the two agents waiting under the light on the porch. She quickly unlocked the door and welcomed them inside. "Hi! Come in!" she stepped aside granting Hetty and Ducky entry. She adored these two people immensely, in the way someone adores an eccentric aunt and uncle.

"Good evening Kelly!" Ducky tutted as he carefully shucked off his jacket and hat. "How are you this evening, my dear?"

Kelly hugged him. "I'm doing ok. I'm doing better than Tony is," she said quietly. "I'm worried about him."

"I'm sure between Jackie, Ducky and Jethro they will make everything right," Hetty said, taking off her own jacket.

"We are certainly going to do our best," Ducky said. "Now my dears, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go have a look in on young Anthony."

Kelly turned to Hetty, "Would you like anything to eat or drink? We have tons of leftover Chinese food?" she offered.

"A glass of water would be lovely while we wait, Love," Hetty said. "If you don't mind, I'll stay downstairs with you and keep you company for a while."

Kelly smiled. "I'd like that. Be right back."

Hetty smiled at Kelly's retreating figure and moved further into the living room. She noticed the packet of information lying on the couch and strolled over and glanced at it. The investigator in her couldn't seem to be stopped and she chuckled at herself briefly until she saw what, exactly, the packet of information was. "Ohhhhh," Hetty murmured. "Oh my goodness…"

A noise drew her attention, and the agent looked up. Kelly was standing in the doorway, glass of water in hand, a surprised look on her face. "Oh did you um…did you see that?" she asked nervously.

Hetty sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her. "Come here dear," she said gently.

Kelly joined her on the couch and ran her fingers nervously around the glass of water she'd forgotten to give to Hetty. "I haven't told anyone yet," she said, looking up at the older woman, silently begging her not to disclose her secret. "I um…I can't sign on officially until I'm eighteen, but I have a ton of information they gave me and—" she stopped when she realized Hetty was staring at her. "What?"

"Why haven't you told your father yet?" Hetty stroked a hand lightly over Kelly's hair.

Kelly looked at her lap. "Several reasons," she said quietly. "Mainly…I don't know how he's going to react. Joining the military can be dangerous…and…I mean I think he'd be proud that I want to follow in his footsteps and become a Marine…I love my country, and I'll happily help protect it…but…after everything with Mom…I have to take care of them. I don't think they expect me to, but I have to keep an eye on Daddy and Tony. I have to make sure they eat and sleep and take care of themselves…they're kind of boneheads about that stuff sometimes. I have to know they're ok. I don't know how to tell them I'm leaving without making them feel like I don't want to be here anymore…I do want to be here…but I want both…I don't know what to do."

"May I make a suggestion?" Hetty asked, folding her hands in her lap. When Kelly nodded she continued. "I would recommend that you work out all of those things before you go any further with any of it. Make sure this is something you are absolutely positive you want to do. Once you enlist, you're committed to four years of service whether you love it or hate it."

"I know," Kelly whispered. "I'm ok with that. And the recruiter said I can go to school while I'm in too…there are so many good reasons to join…I can do a lot of good…but do I dare do it and leave my family behind?" She looked fearfully up at the woman who was like family to her. "What do I do Hetty?"

"You are the only one who can answer that question, Sweetheart," Hetty said, patting Kelly lightly on the shoulder. "Once you have your decision, you will have to speak to your father and brother about it."

Kelly nodded. "I know. I just…I don't know how to tell them. Please don't mention it to them! To anyone!" she looked up in alarm at Hetty. "Please! Please keep it a secret for me?"

Hetty was torn; she didn't want to betray this young woman's trust, but at the same time…did she dare keep a secret of this magnitude from Jethro? "I will keep it on one condition," she said.

Kelly looked intently at Hetty. "What's the condition?" she asked.

"I will keep your secret for one month. After that if you are still considering this, and have not told Jethro, you will do so at that time or I will do it for you. I will accompany you if you require moral support. If you have not made your decision at the end of a month, then I would encourage you to decide on a plan B."

"Yeah," Kelly said. "Yeah that makes good sense." She looked sadly up the stairs. "I just don't know how to say goodbye," she whispered.

"Technology has really made great strides," Hetty said. "Perhaps it would not be goodbye. Perhaps it would be skype or cell phones or emails."

Kelly smiled. "That's true. That's good to remember. Thanks," she hugged her friend warmly.

Hetty hugged Kelly back tightly, and blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. She didn't know how any of them would ever let Kelly leave. She hoped that the young woman would make the best decision for herself. She would support her either way.

But no one ever said it'd be easy.

xxx

Mike Franks decided to stop off at the café on his way home. He'd been meaning to end things with Delia for some time now; had even gotten rid of the cell phone he used to communicate with her, and yet…and yet.

He wanted her so bad he could taste it.

He felt a bit like a junkie, looking for his dealer so he could have 'just one more hit'. He told himself he'd break it off with her, but he just…after a long few days at work, and now with this giant case coming down and Leon going undercover…he needed to let a little steam off.

Charley was never good for letting him do that. A bit high strung on a good day, she was more effective in winding him up than she was helping him relax.

But Delia…she'd twist and contort her body into all sorts of fun positions…she'd coo at him and massage his shoulders…curl around him like a cat and allow him to just…be. She didn't really expect anything from him it seemed; wasn't proving herself to be especially crazy or anything like that.

He wished there was some way to have both. Unfortunately that wasn't possible. He had a feeling Charley was beginning to get suspicious. He had a feeling Jethro was getting suspicious. He had a daughter for chrissakes…beautiful little thing…what would it do to her if his dirty little secret came out?

All of these thoughts swirled in his head as he entered the café and plonked down at the bar. He ordered a drink and took in the warm glow of the muted can lights in the ceiling. The drink appeared before him and a slow sip of it provided the burn he'd been looking for…the liquid courage he needed to make a decision about this thing…to decide which life he was going to live…to decide tonight if it was going to continue or end with Delia. It wasn't long before he felt light fingernails scratching gently over his shoulders as he hunched up on the mahogany counter.

"I tried calling you," Delia's soft toned alto voice purred in his ear. "But the phone went straight to voicemail. Did you forget to charge it?"

Mike glanced over his shoulder, a smile tugging at his features as his eyes roamed shamelessly over the beautiful figure standing next to him now. God, she was gorgeous. Beautiful little temptress. He should end it. He should break her heart and walk away tonight and never look back. "Nah…gotta be honest…was thinkin' of ending things…ending this," he said quietly, staring into his tumbler of bourbon. "Gotta family at home," he said regretfully. "It's not fair to them."

"What's not fair is how you keep me locked away like some big secret," Delia said sadly, poking her lower lip out.

Mike wanted to nibble on it so bad he had to bite his own lip to stop himself. Christ almighty that girl was hot. "I love them though," he said quietly. And he did. He adored them; they were wonderful, a reason to get out of bed every morning and a reason to return home every evening.

"Then why are you here?"

That was a damn good question. And to his surprise it took less than a second for him to come up with the answer. "Because I love you too," he whispered. "I…I don't…I want both," he said quietly. "I don't know how to choose."

"Awwwww Spanky," Delia sighed happily. She leaned in and their lips met in a timeless moment. No one around them gave them a second glance, but Mike couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched. "Do you have to hurry home soon?" the words drifted into his ear in between nuzzles and nibbles on his earlobe. She was a bit of an exhibitionist; he was willing to bet she'd let him have his way with her right here, right now, without too much pressing from him. But they were at the café, at her place of employment, and it was very open and very public. It was also not very close to where he and Charley lived, which was good, because he thought it might lower the risk of running into someone he knew.

"Can't stay out all night," he mumbled into the kiss. "But could tell my wife…tell her I got…hung up at work…"

"You know one day I'm going to ask you to choose," Delia breathed. "Not tonight…but one day. You're going to have to decide what it is, who it is, you want to be with. I adore you Spanky, but I'm not going to be your dirty little secret forever."

At a table just around the corner from where Mike and the waitress were having their public private moment, Charley Franks sat, dumbstruck, watching her life fall apart before her eyes. She had gotten off work a bit ago, and on a whim, decided to get a bite to eat before heading home. Several of her friends from work had recommended this place, telling her what great food they had, and what a pretty landscape the little restaurant offered in the midst of the roaring big city. She'd been surprised to hear her husband's voice floating from the bar, had been even more surprised by the quiet words he'd spoken and the obvious affection being shared with that…woman.

Taking the bull by the horns, Charley pulled out her cell phone. Maybe she was imagining things. Perhaps she'd mistook a stranger for her husband. She quickly dialed Mike's number and her heart sank when she heard it start to ring from over by the bar.

"Hang on," Mike broke the kiss with a sloppy parting of lips. "That's my wife calling. I recognize the ring tone. Be cool."

Charley closed her eyes and forced her emotions down, but was already planning out where to go and where to stay and who to stay with and what to take with her when she left.

"_Hey Babe,"_ Mike's voice sounded rough on the phone. He quickly cleared his throat, the sound drifting through the restaurant and the phone speaker with a half second delay.

"Hi honey," Charley forced herself to sound normal. "I got off work early, wanted to see if you wanted to meet me for dinner before I pick up Leyla."

"_Oh,"_ Mike sounded suddenly uncomfortable. _"Um…I'm not off work yet," Charley closed her eyes. "But I could meet you once I'm done."_

"I could meet you at the office," Charley offered.

"_Nah, that won't work. I'm out on a call,"_ Mike said easily.

_Yeah, a call_, Charley thought to herself. _A booty call._

"_Where'd you have in mind to eat?" _Mike asked.

An idea blossomed in her mind and she spoke before she thought, rattling off the name of the café they were both sitting in. "I've heard it's one of the best places in town to go," she said sweetly.

"_Ohh…well ya know I've heard it's pretty terrible," _Mike said uncomfortably_. "Let's go somewhere else. What about that diner over by NCIS? We both like it and I'll be headed back that way soon."_

Charley took a sip of water and swallowed hard, forcing the lump in her throat down. She didn't want to eat. She wanted to throw up. "Sure babe," she murmured. "That sounds good. I'll meet you there, say half hour?"

"_Half hour? I thought you would be closer to the office than that,"_ Mike commented.

Charley made a rude noise in his ear. "Could say the same for you darling," she said. "I'll see you soon."

There was a brief pause. _"I love you Charley,"_ Mike said.

A tear slid down her cheek and she wished she could die right there. "I love you too Mike," she whispered before ending the call with a soft click.

Mike closed the phone and turned to Delia. "I gotta go. I'm meeting my wife for dinner."

"I heard," Delia said. "Guess we won't get to…" she shrugged one shoulder and ran a finger down his bicep.

"I'll call you," Mike promised and slapped some money on the counter to cover his drink. He leaned in and kissed her again. "I love you," he whispered then quickly left without looking back.

A couple of minutes after Mike left, a woman approached Delia in the café. She was pale and her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Delia nearly burst with concern for this poor woman—what on earth could have happened to leave her looking so…wrecked. She'd been fine when she came in! "Are you alright ma'am?" Delia asked.

The woman took a second to gather her emotions before she straightened. She swallowed hard and looked this woman straight in the eye. "I'd be better if you weren't stealing my husband away from his family, you bitch," she said coldly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go meet _Spanky_ for dinner." She shouldered her way past Delia, leaving her looking shocked and bewildered as she stormed out of the restaurant.

xxx

Mike couldn't believe Delia broke the rules and called his primary cell phone while he was driving to meet Charley. He flipped open the phone, "you've gotta be kiddin' me," he growled."

"_I know we said I'd never call you on this number, but this is an emergency!"_ Delia wailed.

He pulled into the parking lot at the diner and was surprised when Charley pulled into the space right next to his. "You've got about thirty seconds to tell me what's going on," Mike said. "I'm getting out of the car to go meet Charley and she—"

"_She knows Mike,"_ Delia said quietly. _"She was in the restaurant tonight. She must have overheard us. She knows about us."_

Mike watched his wife get out of the car, and the expression on her face was one he'd never seen before and hoped to never see again. "I'm gonna have to call you back," he said quietly.

TBC…


	9. Unravelling

**Author's Note:** Lots of emotions…all across the board. Enjoy!  
_Special thanks to Gotgoats for being my awesome beta!_

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 9: Unravelling**

Mike held the door open and watched as Charley made her way inside the well-lit diner. They'd eaten here a hundred times if they'd eaten here once, but he couldn't help but feel like he was sitting down with a complete stranger. Charley still hadn't spoken to him. They slid into their usual booth and when Heidi, their usual waitress, came out and asked if they both wanted "coffee as usual?" they both nodded.

There was nothing "usual" about this.

Mike swallowed hard. "So um…how was your day?"

Charley looked out the window and didn't answer. Her fingers diddled nervously with the paper ring that previously wrapped itself around the napkin and silverware.

Mike reached out his hand and put it over his wife's and was surprised when she suddenly jerked it back. "Don't. Touch me," she hissed.

Mike drew his hand back and folded his hands on top of the table, his thumbs twiddling nervously. "I um…I don't know what to say," he hedged awkwardly. He was a strong man, always in control, always cool under pressure. He couldn't figure out why this had him shaken so badly.

Other than the fact he couldn't recall ever seeing his wife this…whatever she was…before.

Charley looked at him for a long moment and didn't speak. Her gray eyes were stormy and her expression was deeply set into its resting bitch face. It was almost a glare…but not quite. She looked…he didn't even know how to describe it.

Heidi brought their coffees out, plenty of cream and packets of sweetener in a bowl for them. She frowned slightly when neither of them began doctoring their brews…and it concerned her how quiet they were. This was a lovely couple with a strong marriage. Something horrible must have happened.

"Can um…do you need a few more minutes or are you ready to order?" Heidi asked nervously. She was hesitant to interrupt what appeared to be a very private moment.

To her surprise and relief, Charley turned to her with her usual sweet smile. "I'm sorry. Hello Heidi. How are you today?"

"I'm doing alright Mrs. Franks," Heidi said, feeling some levity returning to the situation. "You ok today?"

The smile faltered before breaking down completely. "It's…" she did glare at Mike this time, "not the best day," she finished. "Could you give us just a couple more minutes please?"

"Sure thing," Heidi looked uncertainly between Charley and Mike. "I'll be right over here at the counter. Just give me a wave when you're ready dears."

"Thanks," Charley said, her smile slowly reconstructing. "Won't be long."

After Heidi walked away, the smile disappeared again and the storm returned to Charley's eyes. "I have a question," she said.

Mike swallowed hard. "Shoot," he said.

Charley picked up her mug of black coffee and took a long sip. She grimaced slightly before slugging back another draught of it. She set the cup down and ran a finger around the rim of it, turning the cup in slow circles, rotating the handle around and around…she finally swallowed hard and let out a long, ragged, breath and when she looked up at him again her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"What is it honey?" Mike asked, still hoping for a miracle to circumvent this cluster he'd roused up. "What do you need to ask me?"

Charley took a deep breath and bowed her head, blinking a couple of times, before raising her stormy gaze back to her husband. "Are you moving out or are Leyla and I moving out?"

xxx

Ducky knocked lightly on the door to Tony's bedroom, unsure of what was going on inside. A moment later, Jackie opened the door. "Hello Ducky," she said with a warm smile. "We're glad you're here."

"Hiya Duck," Jethro said tiredly.

Tony was still sitting wrapped up in his dad's embrace, and didn't respond. His eyes were closed and judging by the paleness of his features, he was in a fair bit of pain. "Good evening everyone," he greeted quietly. "Anthony, how are you, dear boy?"

Ducky frowned when Tony didn't open his eyes. "Tired," he whimpered pitifully. "Everything's broken…it's all wrong…"

"Yeah, but we're going to fix it right? Things are going to get better for you soon," Jethro soothed. He wasn't sure any of them had the energy for another emotional upheaval like the one from earlier.

"Dare I ask what has happened?" Ducky pulled out the chair from Tony's desk and turned it to face the group of people sitting on the bed. He sat down and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Tony has realized…and has admitted it to us, that he's been living somewhat of a double life for some time now," Jackie said when neither of the Gibbses responded to the question. "He's been playing sports and telling us about how popular he is at school and how well he's liked and how many friends he has…but…well he says that most of that isn't exactly the whole truth. He was trying to make sure his dad would be proud of him."

Tony seemed to shrink as Jackie spoke. Jethro hugged him a little tighter, knowing Tony felt horrible for the way he'd been acting. "So we've discussed how I am absolutely proud of him and how the best thing for him to do is to be the Tony we all know and love, and we will provide him with the space and time to really dive in and discover just who that Tony is. He has also expressed some desire to find a new school. Once the school year is over we are going to find him a different school where he can have a new start and he's not going to do this in the future. Clean slate, right kiddo?"

"Yeah," Tony whispered. "Something like that."

Jackie was still itching to ask all of the questions rolling around in her head. She wanted to know why he'd felt the need to do those things. Why had he lied to all of them? What did he hope to accomplish by doing this? She didn't agree with Jethro's decision to just roll over, tell him it'd be alright, ask him not to do it again, and forget that it ever happened. This was a potentially a dangerous pattern for Tony to develop and she felt they needed to nip it early before it became an even bigger problem. The psychologist in her could have a field day with this situation, but the friend in her demanded she hold back, hold her tongue, and only be a supportive friend. There would be a time for discussion later. Perhaps after Tony was asleep they could discuss this further.

"My dear boy, if I may," Ducky began quietly, "you look as if you are in quite a bit of pain. Are you hurting?"

Tony opened his eyes and gazed at Ducky for a long moment before his expression seemed to close down and he hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah," he whispered. "Everything hurts. I just want to go to sleep."

"Perhaps that would be the wisest solution for tonight. Tomorrow is a new day with new challenges. Sleep will be a good remedy for this."

Tony looked up at Jethro. "Can I go to bed now? I know it's kinda early, but…" he shrugged.

"Sure Tony," Jethro said quietly.

"Will…" his gaze dropped, "will you stay?" he murmured.

Jethro smiled. "Wild horses couldn't drag me away."

"Come my dear," Ducky said to Jackie. "Let's let Tony get some rest. If you need me do not hesitate to call Jethro. Any time of day. Goodnight Anthony. Rest well and let us begin a new journey tomorrow."

"Thanks Ducky."

xxx

Mike felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. How could Charley ask him that? How could she even be considering leaving? Mike wasn't taking his relationship with Delia _that_ seriously! Sure, he'd had one weak moment tonight when he'd let a little extra emotion slip, but really? In the grand scheme of things, Mike loved Charley. He wanted to be with Charley. He wanted to raise Leyla with Charley. He wanted to get old with Charley.

Delia was…a bit of fun on the side. A fun distraction when things got too serious.

Delia was temporary.

What it came down to was what he actually wanted. And what Mike found he wanted was to have Delia for play, and Charley for real life. He wanted to be with Charley for the boring, everyday, old-married-couple stuff. He wanted Charley forever.

Delia…he loved her, but not as much or in the same way he loved Charley.

This was not good. He needed the correct answer for Charley, who was looking expectantly at him. He had to get this right and he had to do it right now.

"Why does someone have to move?" he asked sweetly. "I think we can work this out."

"There is nothing to work out," Charley snapped. "I'm a respectable woman with a respectable career and I thought I had a respectable family. I can assure you I am not interested in playing games with you Michael."

"Who's playing games?" Mike sputtered.

Charley's eyes narrowed and Mike knew he'd said the wrong thing. "No. I'm not doing this," she picked up her keys and slid to the end of the booth bench. "Leyla and I will be gone by the time you get home. Assuming you actually come back at all."

"I always come home!" Mike grumbled.

"Do you? All those nights away on cases? Are you really on cases? Or are you doing a different kind of undercover?"

"Oh you think you're pretty clever," Mike snarled, but it was more like the growl of a wounded animal than any kind of effective attack. He vaguely realized how pathetic he sounded.

Charley shrugged into her jacket. "So charming," she sneered sweetly. "Did you learn that tone of voice from your waitress? Or from one of your suspects?"

"Funny," Mike said. "Resorting to insults when you have nothing else to say? How old are we?" What the hell was he doing? He was ruining everything! He needed to be fixing this, not baiting her—not insulting her—not making the situation worse than it already was. "I'm sorry," he immediately said. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm the one who's out of line here, not you."

"Glad you got down off your high horse long enough to realize that," Charley said. "Doesn't change anything. Leyla and I will be gone when you come home."

"You can't keep my daughter from me," Mike said raggedly, his eyes widening. "I'm still her father even if things are…not good…between us."

"Hmm," Charley said, narrowing her eyes. "We'll see. I'm going to want to discuss all of that with my attorney. And we may also want to get to know your little piece of ass on the side too. I wouldn't want to leave my daughter anywhere near a whore who will screw anything with a penis that walks by."

Mike's jaw dropped open at the brutal hostility he was receiving from his wife. He stood up and slapped a few dollars down on the table and followed her towards the door, not ready to end this conversation yet. How had things gone so horribly wrong so quickly? "Charley…Charley wait," Mike begged, chasing his wife outside. "Can we talk about this?"

Charley whipped around on him and he almost didn't get stopped before he ran into her. "Which part would you like to talk about?" Charley snapped. "The part where you lied to me? The part where you cheated on me? And for how long? How long has this gone on without me noticing? How long would it have gone on if I hadn't been sitting in that restaurant tonight? Would you like to discuss how you have disrespected me and our marriage? How you have disrespected our daughter? Or maybe you want to talk about how I felt tonight sitting in that restaurant listening to my husband—MY husband—talk to some, some _woman_…telling her he loves her…what if we talk about how that made me feel? I moved here to be with you. I left my home and my family _in another country_ so I could follow you here and become some a card carrying social reject immigrant—someone who gets looked down upon every time I walk into a room. Each time I meet someone new I have to wonder if they're going to accuse me of being an illegal alien or if they are going to ask to see my papers. Every time I go through a traffic check I have to ask myself if I am going to be deported for some crime I may or may not have committed. Do you understand how much I have sacrificed in order just to be with you? And do you understand how much it means I love you that I would do all of those things? And you just…you just took it all and threw it all away." She flipped her long dark pony tail over her shoulder. "I am here to tell you something now, Michael Aaron Franks. I will not—I WILL NOT be disrespected in this way. I am a humble, hard-working, respectable woman. I deserve better than what I have gotten. You have made a huge mistake and you will pay for what you have done to our family."

Mike grabbed her arm then, needing to keep her from walking away. She winced at how tightly he held her. "Are you threatening me?" his voice dropped to a low growl. "Because if we're going to do the threatening game, I should remind you that I'm the reason you get to have a green card here in the first place. I'm the reason you got to come here and finish your education. Otherwise you'd be sitting on the beach stringing bead necklaces to sell to the gringos."

Charley wrenched her arm away from him and slapped him across the face. "I think perhaps I would be better off doing that than living in a country where I am not respected with a man who does not love me," she said coldly.

"I DO love you! Jesus can't you see that?!" Mike exclaimed.

Charley shook her head sadly and rubbed her arm where he grabbed her. "No Mike. I'm sorry but I cannot see that at all. Not in anything you have said or done tonight. How am I to be respected by anyone else if my own husband does not respect me? You have power over me, being my immigration sponsor. I realize that. I also realize that I have power over you in that I am Leyla's mother. The courts in America look favorably on mothers. Especially when they have been treated unfairly by the fathers." Her expression turned bleak. "I am too angry and too heartbroken to discuss this with you tonight. Leyla and I are going to go stay somewhere else and we will talk more over the weekend."

"You're going to leave me? Just like that? You didn't even give me a chance to explain!"

"You met another woman in a restaurant when you told me you were working and you told her you loved her. To have developed such affection for someone must mean that you have had a relationship for quite some time. Indeed, you and I were together for most of a year before you ever said those words to me. No, I think the only thing you are upset about is that I was sitting around the corner in the restaurant and overheard every word you said. I think you are feeling shamed and embarrassed. And I think you should feel that way. You have dishonored our marriage Michael. We have been together for many years now! Why would you do that? If you had a problem, if you felt like you needed something I was not providing you with, why did you not speak to me about it?"

"I didn't…I didn't seek her out intentionally," Mike whispered. "It just kind of…happened."

"I think that makes me feel even worse," Charley said quietly. "I have to go. We will talk more over the weekend."

"Where will you be staying?"

"That is none of your concern. Goodnight Michael."

Inside the diner, trying not to pry, but unable to stop watching what was happening, Heidi slowly cleared away the cups. She watched Mr. and Mrs. Franks argue and scream at each other. Her eyes widened when he grabbed her arm and then she slapped him in the face. It was obvious from her perspective that their marriage was falling apart. They were such a fun, sweet couple though, it made her sad to see it unravelling. But if what she'd overheard was any indication, Mr. Franks had really screwed up here. She hoped Mrs. Franks would be alright.

She wondered if she'd ever see them again.

xxx

Jackie and Ducky headed downstairs to see Hetty and Kelly sitting in the living room talking quietly. Kelly leapt to her feet as soon as she saw them. "How's Tony? Why aren't you with him? What's going on?"

Ducky smiled at her and wrapped her into a gentle hug. "My dear, you mustn't worry too terribly much about Anthony. He's heading off to bed now, and Jethro is going to stay with him until he is asleep."

"But is he ok?" Kelly wanted to know.

The two doctors shared a long look before Ducky nodded slightly. Jackie rested a hand on Kelly's shoulder. Kelly shrugged it off and glared at Jackie. "I'm not a child. Answer my question please," Kelly snapped. "Don't do the secret conversation with your eyebrows. I'm not stupid. Is my brother ok?"

"Kelly, you heard Ducky," Jackie began, placating the teenager gently.

Kelly cut her off. "Please excuse me. I'll go upstairs and check on him myself."

"No need, Bug," Jethro said from the stairs. He wrapped an arm around Kelly and steered her back towards the living room. "He's asleep. He's going to be fine. We have a plan."

"But what happened?" Kelly wanted to know.

Jethro sat down on the couch, not paying any attention to the packet of information lying just two cushions away. Kelly sat down next to him and crossed her arms, staring at him expectantly. Jethro leaned back on the couch with a long exhale and looked at the ceiling. "What can you tell me about how things are for Tony at school?" he asked her.

"That seems random," Kelly said, puzzled. "But…I think he's not as happy as he lets on. But I think I only know that 'cause I know him so well. He runs around with a lot of people at school, and he's always smiling and goofy and stuff…but he usually eats his lunch by himself. The really popular kids? They don't do that."

"Does he have any friends at school?" Jethro wanted to know.

Kelly shrugged. "I don't think he has anyone he's particularly close to. Like I said, he runs around with lots of people, but I'd wager most of them don't really know him that well. Tony's good at that."

"Good at what?" Jackie asked.

Kelly stared at her. "Smoke and mirrors," she replied. "If he wants you to think things are great, he'll convince you of that."

"Do you think he's being dishonest?" Jackie asked.

Kelly's face twisted into a snarl. "No. I think he's a people pleaser. He's everything everyone wants him to be. He's the jock, and the clown, and the prince charming. He's a good student, but doesn't really act like a nerd. He can be friends with anyone. He can be anything anyone wants or needs him to be. I think it's kind of brilliant the way he can do that. And he always seems so genuine."

"That concerns me," Jackie murmured.

"It shouldn't. Tony came from Hell, Jackie. He came from a world where it didn't matter who he was or what he did because it would never be good enough. So I think he runs himself ragged trying to make sure everyone around him is happy. He lets you think you're getting to know him without actually sharing anything personal. He shares just enough of himself so that people don't notice he's not really sharing anything at all. It's all smoke and mirrors. It's not him being dishonest. It's how he defends himself because he's so insecure about everything," Kelly snapped.

Jackie stopped. She hadn't considered that. She'd been so caught up in how antisocial it was, how sociopathic it was for him to be so dishonest all the time…but…she had to admit, what Kelly said made good sense.

"I could help him with that," Jackie said quietly. "Do you think he'd let me?"

"Nope," Kelly said, with a firm shake of her head.

"You don't?" Jackie was puzzled.

"Nope," Kelly said again. "Because he'd think you're judging him. He'd think you don't think he's ok to be the way he is."

"Well, Kelly dear, that kind of behavior isn't what we'd call normal," Jackie said gently.

"Have you ever paid attention to my brother? Have you ever really listened to him or watched how he interacts with people? Because he is so accepting, so forgiving, so walking the line of almost always being abused because he refuses to fight back…there is nothing normal about him. He's the most amazing person, and most people don't see it because they're too busy worrying about whether or not he's telling lies, or whether or not he's gay because he didn't want to sleep with his girlfriend, or whether or not he cheats on a test because he goofs off in class and makes the highest grades. There's a lot more to Tony than anyone, except maybe Daddy and me, realizes. Go study that," Kelly growled.

"Easy now Kelly," Jethro interjected, sensing his daughter was close to losing her temper. "I know you're protective of him. But Jackie cares about him too. She isn't trying to say anything bad about Tony; she's just concerned."

"Well that's not the way it came across!" Kelly grumbled.

"Perhaps we should let Kelly know about the plan you developed with Anthony," Ducky suggested, hoping to bring some levity back to this potentially explosive situation. Goodness, he'd known for years that Kelly was protective of her brother, but this…she was fearless. He was mightily impressed by her.

"We're going to let Tony finish out the year where you guys are at now. Then next year, after you graduate, he's going to go to a different school. And we're going to work with him on being more Tony and less the Tony he thinks the world wants to see."

Kelly thought about this for a moment. She was sure her brother would need her support during all of that…but she still felt the tug to leave…the tug to join the military. She wanted to be a Marine like her daddy…maybe a medic or a nurse like her mother…and being in the Marines could provide her with the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of both of her parents. But…Tony needed her. She'd always looked after him and kept him safe. Who would do that with her not there?

She looked at Hetty for a long moment, and the older agent smiled and nodded once, understanding what it was Kelly was considering.

"Are you going to take care of him if he does that?" Kelly asked her dad.

"What? Of course I am! When have I ever not?" Jethro retorted.

"I can think of one time," Kelly said quietly. "And I have a good reason for asking."

"What's that, Princess?" Jethro asked. He glanced at her and cocked his head to one side. "What is it you're trying to tell me?"

"You have to look after Tony next year, Daddy," Kelly said quietly. "Because I'm not going to be here to do it."

"You aren't?" Jethro blinked. He'd assumed Kelly was going away, but it seemed a little late in the game to begin applying to colleges. "You haven't told me what your plans are yet, honey. Sorry, but you just surprised me. What is it you're thinking of doing?"

Kelly looked up at her daddy and stared at him for a long moment before glancing at each of the other adults in the room. She reached beside her and picked up the packet she'd discarded earlier in her quest to check on her brother. She looked at it for a long moment before she passed it to Jethro silently.

Jethro looked at her curiously and took the packet from her. He looked at it for a long moment, swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. "Are you sure?" he asked gently. He turned and looked at his beautiful, all grown up daughter. He'd held her tiny body in his big hands when she was just a tiny baby, and he'd done everything he could to protect her from the moment she'd arrived on earth. He couldn't protect her if she did this. He could only sit back and hope that everything he taught her, everything he did to support her, every prayer he sent up would be enough.

Kelly looked him in the eye, looking more serious than she'd ever looked about anything. "I'm sure," she said quietly. "I'm going to join the Marines."

TBC…


	10. What A Mess

**Author's Note:** I've decided I need another day between Saturday and Sunday. Or between Sunday and Monday. Or maybe I should switch to a 2 day work week with a 5 day weekend. Chapter is not beta'd so any mistakes found here are all mine! Goats is busy with work and school, so hopefully he will be back to checking me soon!

**Best Kept Secrets  
****Chapter 10: What A Mess**

For an instant after Kelly's quiet declaration, it seemed as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. Hetty smiled to herself, proud of Kelly for choosing not to keep this from her father.

Ducky seemed to recover first. "My dear Kelly, I think that sounds like a wonderful decision. However, have you given plenty of thought to all that will entail? You may be gone for months, perhaps even years at a time," he said wisely.

Kelly nodded. She thought back to the conversation she had with the recruiter at the office on Monday. He'd explained to her that basic training would last for thirteen weeks, after which time she would get to have a family day and graduation. She knew that once she was through Basic she would be given a post somewhere. This could be on a base, at an air station, on a ship or aircraft carrier…any number of things. She could take college classes and the Marine Corps would pay for it. She'd get to travel, see the world. She'd be on her own…independent, but with the safety net of the Marines underneath her.

"I've thought a lot about it," Kelly said. "I think it's the right choice for me."

"Kelly, princess, you know we'll support you, but…honey you haven't ever mentioned being interested in joining before. You could have come and talked to me about it?" Jethro stated quietly.

Kelly shrugged. "I know," she said quietly. "But…I um…wasn't sure how you'd react. And honestly, I hadn't really given it a whole lot of thought before I ran into the recruiter at the Career Day thingy on Monday. When he started telling me about it…it just all seemed to click. I can be a Marine like you, and I can study to be a nurse or a teacher or anything I decide I want to be while I'm doing it. And right now…I mean there aren't any huge wars going on, so at least for now I'd be safe. And if a war or something did break out…you know I'd want to help. I've watched you do it for years. I think…I think this is something I have to do. I may only do four years, but…I'd really like to see how this goes for me."

Jethro nodded. He understood what that draw to service felt like, had experienced it himself when he was about the same age as his daughter. "The world is a big place, Princess," he told her. "Joining up is a great way to get to see parts of it. Have you signed on yet?"

Kelly shook her head and looked around at each face in the room. "Not yet," she said. "I have to be 18 before I can go do it. That isn't until July."

"We can go talk to the recruiter together sometime if you'd like. Get even more information for you," Jethro offered. "I'd be proud to go with you."

"Really?" Kelly was nearly overwhelmed at how supportive her dad was being. She wasn't sure he would even let her do it and now he was offering to go to the recruiter's office with her. "You'd go with me?"

Jethro gave her a funny look. "Of course I would," he wrapped her in a warm hug then, and rested his chin on the top of her head. Only then did he let his friends see how much this idea of Kelly's scared the hell out of Jethro. "Of course I would," he whispered again.

They were all startled when Jackie's cell phone began to ring. She moved towards her purse. "That may be Leon calling," she said. She pulled out the phone and looked at it. "Oh, it's not Leon, it's Charley," Jackie said. She quickly flipped open the phone. "Hello Charley!" she answered.

Jackie's face pulled down into a frown as she listened to what her friend had to say on the other end of the line. "Of…of course Sweetheart. Of course you can come stay with us. No," she looked at the others, "no I won't tell Mike where you are. But honey…what's happened?" She listened for a few more minutes. "Oh dear….oh you're kidding…oh Charley I'm so sorry," Jackie lamented. "I will meet you at our apartment. Leon may already be there. I will call him and let him know, too. It's going to be alright, dear. We'll get you through this."

After she hung up the phone, she realized everyone was staring at her. "I'm sorry to cut the evening short," she said quietly, "but I need to go and meet Mike's wife."

"What's going on with Charley and Mike, Jackie?" Hetty asked.

Jackie shook her head. "I can't…she didn't give me permission to share what's going on. But she and Leyla are going to stay with Leon and me for a few days. She's on her way to our apartment now, so I should head out."

"Thank you for your help this evening," Jethro said, rising to his feet and giving his friend a warm hug. "You are awesome."

"I didn't do a whole lot," Jackie said shyly. "But I'm glad to help. Even if it's just to be moral support."

"Thank you," Jethro said sincerely.

Jackie said goodbye to everyone and quickly hurried out the door. "I wonder what's happened?" Hetty wondered out loud. The others shook their heads in agreement. No one knew. No one had any idea.

xxx

Mike decided to give Charley the space she needed to get her and Leyla's things before he went home. Charley didn't want to see him. She'd made that painfully honest. For a split second he thought of going back to the Bistro and looking for some comfort in Delia. He head slapped himself over that though; that was what got him into this damn mess in the first place! He was going to break things off with Delia. He needed to fix his marriage…if there was anything left of it to fix. God, he was so stupid. Stupid for having the damn affair in the first place, more stupid because he'd thought he could hide it and get away with it.

He decided he'd go to the local pub and drink away his sorrows while he waited for Charley to leave. She was so upset with him, so angry. He would do anything to try making it better…and he knew that right now the best thing for him to do was leave her alone.

He stopped the car a block or so from the pub and got out. He made sure to lock the doors and closed the car up tightly and headed down the street. It was a beautiful spring evening, sun just setting, daylight savings time was now providing them with an additional hour of light in the evenings, and the sky was awash in blues and yellows, oranges, red and purple. It was gorgeous the way it flickered through the trees, illuminating the foliage like Moses' Burning Bush.

Charley was always admiring the sky. Sunrises, sunsets, cloud formations, storms…she admired all of it.

Mike pointed his eyes at his toes and tried not to believe that everything good in his life, everyone he truly loved, his entire family…all of it was destroyed.

And how embarrassing for him! He wasn't stupid; he was fully aware of how close friends Charley was with Jackie Vance. And if she told Jackie, well Mike didn't know the other lady well enough to know if she'd tell the whole team or not. Would she tell Leon? And would Leon say anything?

He pulled open the door to the little hole-in-the-wall pub and stepped inside. He was immediately greeted by a cloud of blue-gray cigarette smoke and the rumblings of heavy metal rock 'n' roll coming from the jukebox. It was still a bit early yet for the joint to be totally packed, but there were several other people sitting at the bar trying to drink away their days too.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked, setting a drink napkin on the bar in front of Mike.

"Whatever yer pourin'," Mike responded. He pulled out his cell phone and looked; nothing. Charley hadn't called, and thankfully, neither had Delia.

The bartender set a shot of something in front of him and Mike picked it up and slogged it back without even sniffing it first. He set the glass on the table and tapped the wooden counter with his thumb. "Another please!" he ordered.

The bartender eyed him carefully. "Got a fifteen minute wait limit, bud," he said seriously. "I'm not allowed to give you more than one drink in fifteen minutes."

"What a load of crap," Mike muttered. "How's a guy supposed to drink away his sorrows if the bartender won't give him drinks?"

The other man shrugged. "Sorry buddy. Don't know what to tell ya. Gotta wait fifteen minutes. It's the law, and sorrows or not, you're not getting me into trouble."

"Yeah, yeah," Mike said good naturedly. "It's alright. Probably don't need more than one anyway." He slapped some money down on the table and the bartender smiled. "You have yourself a good night," he stood up.

Once he got back to his car, Mike put the key in the ignition and let out a long breath. Fifteen minute rule, indeed. He pulled the car out in traffic and headed for the nearest liquor store. He'd buy himself a bottle of whatever he wanted. That fifteen minute rule could go kiss itself.

It seemed the universe was conspiring against him tonight.

xxx

Things calmed down at the Gibbs house pretty quickly after Jackie left. Hetty and Ducky both left, promising to be back in a moment's notice if any of them needed help. Once Jethro and Kelly were alone and sitting in the living room together, Jethro looked at his daughter. "You're so grown up," he mused. "I'm so proud of you."

"Really? Why?" Kelly wondered. "I haven't done anything special?"

Jethro scooted a bit closer to her on the couch. "Honey, everything you do is special! You're smart, you're funny. You're an amazing big sister. You did such a great job today Kelly. I feel like you always get the short end of the stick—you're always the strong one who handles our problems. I just…why didn't you mention the marines to me, honey?"

Kelly leaned her head on her daddy's shoulder and thought for a moment. "Well…I'll be honest…I didn't even think of it as an option before Monday when I went to the Career Day thingy for the senior class. Before that I had no idea what I even wanted to do. I've been working and going to school and doing my homework all year, and just really hadn't given next year or the future any thought. I'm just living it, ya know?"

Jethro wrapped an arm around Kelly's shoulders. "Do you think you're making a hasty decision?"

"No," Kelly shook her head without lifting it off of Jethro's shoulder. "You know how you taught us to listen to our guts?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jethro said, nodding along with her.

She lifted her head and looked at him. "The second that recruiter suggested it, I knew in my gut that this is the right decision for me."

Jethro smiled sadly at her. "Your gut never lies," he told her.

"You taught us that," Kelly smiled. "I'm not worried about joining the Marines," she said after a minute, biting her lower lip.

"Then what are you worried about?" Jethro asked, gently plucking her lip from her teeth.

She was quiet for a long time. Finally she looked at her dad with tears in her eyes. "How do I tell Tony?" she whispered.

xxx

Charley and Leyla were waiting at the apartment building's entrance when Jackie arrived home from Gibbs' house.

"I'm so sorry to call you on such short notice," Charley immediately began apologizing. "I hope we are not putting you out—"

Jackie reached out and plucked Leyla from Charley's overfilled arms. "Nonsense," she said kindly with a gentle smile to her friend. "You came to the right place. Now we'll go inside and get Little Miss settled and then we'll have some coffee and you can tell me everything. Did you eat?"

Charley looked mildly ill. "I started to earlier…but no. I haven't eaten. Leyla ate at the babysitter's house."

"Alright," Jackie said. "We'll get you girls all taken care of." The elevator dinged then and they stepped on board and Jackie pressed the button for the floor their apartment was on.

Once they were inside the apartment, Jackie quickly made up the guest room and Charley used an extra comforter and made a small pallet on the floor for her child to sleep on. She quickly tucked her young daughter into bed and ran a hand lightly over her dark hair. Leyla was born with her mother's tan skin and dark hair, but her father's bright colored eyes and spunky personality. She was a genuine combination of Charley and Mike…and it broke Charley's heart to think of the suffering her daughter would encounter because of her father's carelessness.

How could they possibly move forward from this moment?

Charley followed Jackie into the living room where she sat down numbly and ran a hand over her upper arm. She stared blankly out the windows on the French doors leading to the balcony and was vaguely aware of Jackie mentioning something about a cup of coffee. She finally blinked when a colorful mug appeared in front of her, already prepared just the way she preferred it.

"Charley," Jackie said plaintively, sipping her own coffee and watching with concern as Charley merely held her cup and did not drink from it. "Charley what's happened?"

Charley blinked and looked at her friend. Then her gaze lowered to her mug and she stared into it for a long time before lifting it to her lips and taking a slow sip of it. "It's Mike," she finally blurted in a harsh whisper. She was silent for a long moment, crocodile tears dancing in her eyes, fiercely biting her lip to contain her outburst. She didn't _DO _this. "Selfish bastard," she whispered, slapping an angry hand across the tears that dared to fall from her eyes.

"Charley?"

Charley looked up at Jackie. "He's having an affair," she intoned quietly. "With a waitress."

Jackie's eyebrows raised. This didn't sound like Mike at all! "Charley…honey are you sure?"

"Do you doubt me?" Charley hissed, rising to her feet.

Jackie wrapped her fingers around her friend's wrist and pulled her back down to the couch beside her. "No. I just…how did you find out?"

Charley's expression closed down a bit. "I overheard him having a conversation with the woman he's having an affair with. He told her…" her voice trailed off in a sad haze, "he told her he loves her. I was sitting in the restaurant where she works, he came in and sat at the bar. He didn't know I was there. She brought him a drink and they started talking…he told her he wanted to end it, but that he couldn't because he's in love with her too. He told her he'd lie to me about having to work late so they could spend time together."

"What did you do? Did you confront them?"

Charley smiled faintly. "Oh no, not directly. Not at first. I called him on the phone…kept my voice low so he wouldn't hear me across the room. I suggested we meet for dinner—at the bistro where we were both sitting. He…" tears filled her eyes. "He told me he was out on a call and that he couldn't meet me. And he told me that he'd heard the bistro wasn't…wasn't any good…he suggested we meet at the diner over by NCIS. You know, the one where everyone eats all the time?"

Jackie nodded. "Did you go meet him?"

"Yeah," Charley sniffled hard and Jackie handed her a tissue. "He promised to call her, told her he loved her, then he left. I waited until he was gone, then I stood up and confronted her. Told her I was his wife. I left before she could say anything."

"And you went to meet Mike?"

Charley let out a shaky breath and nodded. "I met him at the diner. But as I drove over there, I got less and less sad and more and more angry. I cannot believe he would betray me—us—like this. He's always been so good to me…he's a wonderful father…Jackie, I love him so much. God help me, he's having an affair, is in love with another woman, and I still love him. I want to run to him and have him fix everything. He's the one who's supposed to do that for me! Why would he do this?" She began to cry then, loud heaving sobs that wracked her whole frame.

Jackie pulled her into a tight hug. She ran her fingers over her friend's hair and spoke quietly in her ear. "Easy Charley…don't wake the baby. She doesn't need to see you upset like this. It's all going to be alright. Would you like me to call Leon? Have him call Mike for you?"

Charley shook her head. "I told him we'd talk over the weekend. I asked him—asked him who was moving out, me or him. He got mad. He-he grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away. He's never done that before," she whispered.

"Did he hurt you? Is your arm alright?" Jackie ran her fingers over her friend's arm, looking for signs of injury. Mike was not a small guy; if he wanted to control someone in a physical way, he would have no problems doing so.

Charley nodded. "It's fine. There might be a bruise, but it's fine. I'm not worried about my arm. Jesus Jackie…my whole life is falling apart. What do I do with this? Should I try to forgive him? Try to make it work? Should I walk away? Would I stay here or go back to the island? I don't know what to do," she moaned.

"Tonight I would recommend you don't do anything, but rest. Did you eat?"

"No," Charley whispered. "I…I couldn't."

Jackie nodded. "Ok. You should try to eat something, even if it is something light like soup. You need some food in you. Then we'll let you rest tonight. We can eat ice cream and watch a movie if you want to."

"Should I call him? Jackie I threatened to take Leyla away from him. I don't…I don't want to do that. He's a good father, even if he's a lousy husband. I don't want Leyla to not know her dad or to keep her from Mike…I don't…I don't know what to do?"

"You don't need to solve anything tonight. Tonight just relax and we'll take on tomorrow when tomorrow gets here."

xxx

It was late in the evening when Jethro decided to check on the kids before trying to get some work done. He was tired, but he'd promised Hetty he'd get that information processed and get it compiled for Leon before he went undercover. His steps on the stairs were nearly silent and the well-oiled hinges on the bedroom doors did not wake the children as he checked on them.

Kelly was asleep with a book dropped across her face. Jethro gently plucked the book away and marked her page, as he did every night of the world. He kissed her on the forehead, pulled the covers up a little higher, and turned out her lamp on his way out of the room. Kelly shifted once, but was still and quiet afterwards and didn't wake up.

He stepped across to Tony's room next and cracked the door open. He wasn't entirely surprised to find Tony awake, leaning against the window, staring outside.

"Tony?" Jethro kept his voice quiet, but the teenager still jumped slightly when his daddy spoke.

"Hey Daddy," Tony whispered in the dimly lit room.

Jethro closed the door behind him and stepped over to the window, joining his son in looking outside. "Thought you'd be asleep still," Jethro commented, one hand rubbing gently over Tony's shoulder blades, while the other lifted a slat in the miniblind to peek outside.

"It's almost that day again," Tony said quietly, leaning his head against the side of the window sill.

Jethro glanced curiously at Tony. "What day?"

Tony turned and stared at Jethro. "That. Day."

"Ohhhh," Jethro said quietly, nodding solemnly and turning his gaze back to the window. "Yeah. Yeah it is. You missing Mom tonight?"

Tony shrugged once. "Just wondering about something."

"Whatcha wondering about, Chief?"

Tony's expression closed down a little bit. "Wondering if she'd be angry with me. You know. For all of this."

Jethro's mouth tugged into a half smile and he wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders, pulling him close this time. "I don't think she'd be angry. I think she'd be concerned. She'd be worried about you. I think she'd be Asher's worst nightmare," he smiled when Tony chuckled softly.

"I miss her," Tony said after a long few minutes of not speaking.

Jethro hugged him a little tighter, feeling his heart break for the millionth time. "I know you do, buddy," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Tony's head and pulling him closer. "I miss her too. What do ya say ya get some sleep?"

"Can I go back to school tomorrow?"

Jethro considered this. "Do you feel up to it?"

Tony shrugged. "I think so. I don't think I'm ready for gym class or soccer practice yet, but I think I can go sit in Math and History class. Those are pretty harmless. English too. Science gets tricky sometimes," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Funny guy," Jethro commented with a good natured roll of his eyes. "Alright. Let's see how you're feeling in the morning. I don't think anyone will give you a hard time about not playing in gym class or anything yet. Make sure you still go to the classes, but show the doctor's note, yeah?"

Tony nodded. "I can do that. Hey Dad?" he asked as he pulled back the covers and once again climbed into bed.

"Yeah?" Jethro sat down on the edge of the bed next to him.

"Why do I still think about what Senior said and feel bad about the names he called me and the lessons he taught me?"

Jethro took a deep breath. Tony was bouncing from difficult topic to difficult topic tonight and Jethro was having a hard time with the quick subject changes. "Well, I am not sure I knew you were doing those things," Jethro finally retorted sweetly. "You haven't told me about that."

Tony closed his eyes for a brief moment, silently kicking himself for forgetting that he'd not mentioned any of his memories or nightmares to his dad. Crap, this could be awkward. "It's not all the time…or even some of the time, to be honest. It's just…every now and then. When things get. Y'know," he shrugged one shoulder.

"When things get bad?" Jethro offered.

"Yeah," Tony choked out. Damn, this was harder than he'd bargained for. One day he'd learn to keep his mouth shut. Maybe he'd make it a new rule.

"Well son…there are things that we're told, things that we're taught when we're very young that become part of who we are…we develop certain attitudes about the world and the people in it at a very young age. Those things can be changed, but it takes a lot of work and help from the people around you to really make the difference. What Senior did…it's another way he abused you Tony," Jethro told him gently. "He wanted to beat you down, emotionally as well as physically, so that he could control you easier. If you thought you'd never be able to get away—or worse, that no one on the outside world would care about you or would help you if you did—then you wouldn't try to get away from him and he could keep a tighter hold on you. Does that make sense?"

Tony thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah that makes sense. So when he said things like 'DiNozzos don't cry' that was him trying to hurt me? In another way?"

Jethro nodded sadly. "Yeah son," he said quietly. "Because you were a little kid, and you were hurting. Little kids cry when they get hurt. Big kids and adults cry when it hurts sometimes too. Senior knew all of that. He also knew that he could punish you for doing something you had no control over if he told you that you shouldn't do it."

"Sometimes…it's like I can still hear him in my head. I can hear him say 'DiNozzos don't cry' or 'you're worthless Anthony' or 'you're such a fuck-up'," he winced as he used the profanity, but his daddy didn't say anything. "I hear those words in my head sometimes…and other things too…and I…I try to remind myself that you don't think those things are true. You don't, do you?!" Tony shot an alarmed look at Jethro.

Jethro bundled him into a warm, safe hug, squeezing him as tightly as he dared with Tony's multiple injuries. "I don't think any of that is true. I think you're precious and wonderful and just as valuable to this world _and to me_ as Kelly is. You're priceless Tony. You're irreplaceable. I don't care if you cry—I want you to feel safe to come to me with that. I don't want to do anything that reminds you of Senior. I want to be the opposite of him in everything. I want you to be the person you were created to be. I want you to be the person _you_ want to grow up into. Whatever that looks like. If you're happy, then it will make me happy. It will make me proud. You make me proud every day. You have overcome so many obstacles—including Senior and his abuse—and I know how difficult that has been for you. But you are amazing. And you're strong. And even when it gets hard, I don't want you to forget that. Not ever, ok?"

Tony nodded against Jethro's chest. "What if I do forget?"

"If you forget, then you come to me and you tell me. And I'll remind you," Jethro looked down at Tony and smiled. "I mean it."

Tony smiled. "I know you do. And just so you know…I mean even when things got weird with us right after Mom…died…I never thought you were like Senior. I never thought you would treat me the way he did."

"That's good Tony. Real good. What did you think?" Jethro asked, somewhat apprehensively. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he knew he needed to hear it.

Tony was quiet for a long time. "I just knew you were so sad. I knew you missed Mom. And…around that time I kept thinking it was my fault she died. I guess…I was afraid I'd make you hurt worse. If…if you blamed me too, then…" he shrugged.

Jethro hugged him again. "Oh my Little Tony," he said. They'd had this conversation before, but usually the timing was all wrong for it. This time Jethro didn't feel the wash of defensiveness he usually did with Tony when he talked about this. This time, he felt like he actually heard what his boy was trying to say. "You were trying to help me then, the best way you knew how, weren't you?"

Tony looked up at him, shocked that his dad seemed to actually understand this time. "Yeah," he whispered. "I thought…if I wasn't around…I wouldn't be a constant reminder. I know now it wasn't my fault…but…I don't want to make it harder for you. Not ever."

"You are so good. You never make things harder. If I say you do, I give you permission to give me a head slap," Jethro smiled.

"I don't think I could ever give you a head slap," Tony's eyes widened slightly, old fears rearing to the surface.

"Hey," Jethro gave him a gentle shake. "I want to be nothing like Senior. If you head slap me I'll know it is a wakeup call. You won't get in trouble with me for that. You hear me?"

Tony nodded, relaxing back against his daddy. "Sorry," he mumbled. "About all of this. It's a big mess and it's my fault."

"We're going to fix it Tony. It'll be alright. You'll see."

xxx

Jethro returned downstairs after sitting with Tony and talking to him for a long time, then just keeping him company until the painkillers he'd been prescribed finally kicked in and he'd dozed off into a peaceful and hopefully restful sleep. He settled at the dining room table, carefully laying the file out around the laptop computer. He needed to get this information processed for Leon; it was imperative that this information be accessible to his colleague when he went undercover. He'd only just begun working on it when there was a knock on the door.

He glanced at the clock and let out a sigh. It was only half past ten, but he really needed to get this work done. He had no idea who may be visiting at this time of night. He opened the door and his eyes widened with surprise when he saw Mike standing in his doorway, leaning heavily against the doorframe, quite obviously intoxicated. Tears were pooling in his gray eyes and he swiped absently at his forehead with one hand. The other hand clutched a bottle of liquor of some variety.

Jethro stood in the doorway, probably for a full minute, just watching his friend sway drunkenly before he finally found his voice. "Do you need some help crawling the rest of the way into the bottle? Or are you good?" he snarked with a half-smile tugging at his lips.

"P-Probie! Probie you gotta help me!" Mike wailed.

"Well Mike I was pretty much joking when I offered to help you crawl the rest of the way in," Jethro shook his head, chuckling.

"DAMMIT GIBBS I NEED YOUR HELP," Mike snarled.

"Hey! You can lower your damn voice," Jethro instantly cooled. "My kids have had a rough day, they are exhausted, Tony is hurting, and they are both asleep. Lower your voice or leave."

"Sorry," Mike's voice dropped to an almost comical stage whisper. "I need your help, Jethro. I don't know what to do!"

Against his better judgment, with his eyes raised toward the sky, Jethro relented. "Alright. Come on in."

Once they were inside, Jethro closed the door and crossed his arms, waiting for Mike to explain. When he didn't, when he began sloshing off the bottle instead, Jethro let out a loud breath. "You know I have work I need to be doing," he said. "And I might want to sleep tonight. What's going on Mike?"

"Probie you and I both know you rarely sleep," Mike slurred.

Jethro didn't answer, merely stared at the other man.

"It's Charley," Mike said quietly, setting the bottle down on the coffee table. "She um. She left me tonight."

Jethro blinked. He hadn't expected that. "Left you? Why'd she leave you? What happened?"

Mike took another unhappy swig off the bottle, debating how to spin the story. He figured it'd be best to just own up to it and be honest. They were all friends with Charley, too, so if he lied, that would undoubtedly come out. "I screwed up," he mumbled.

Jethro sat down on the couch. "Ok," he said, drawing the word out. "How'd ya screw up? What did you do that was so bad that Charley left you? She loves you!"

And that, Mike thought, was what made it even worse. He knew how much his beloved wife loved him. She loved him as much as he loved her. That's what made this whole thing so awful. He ran a hand over his forehead and took a deep breath. "Well, there was this case we were working a while back when I got sent out to do all that surveillance over at GWU. Remember?"

Jethro nodded.

"Well the site I picked out to do my surveillance was in a little bistro across from the campus. I had a clear view of what I needed to see, and just looked like some average joe having coffee and lunch at the restaurant. And the waitress kept the coffee coming and in return I gave her a huge tip for giving up her table to me for the day."

"Ok. So what?" Jethro asked, still not understanding what the issue was.

"So once the case was over I went back. To the bistro. To see the waitress," Mike said quietly. "Her name is Delia and she's studying dance and human services at—"

"Wait," Jethro stopped him. "You're having an affair?"

Mike stopped. Affair was such a nasty word, in his opinion. "Well I didn't mean for it to go that way. I just—"

"Why would you go back there to see the waitress then? What were you hoping to do? And that case was months ago—have you been—" Jethro could feel his blood pressure rising as he got more angry. How could Mike do this? How could he be so stupid?

"Yeah Probie," Mike said quietly. "I've been…with Delia…ever since the case."

"And Charley found out?" Jethro's fingers were beginning to tighten into fists. He didn't really understand why he quite so angry, but all he knew was the more information he got, the angrier he was getting.

"Yeah," Mike said. "She found out."

"Did you tell her?"

Mike rubbed the back of his neck with a weary hand. He could tell Jethro was getting angry with him, but hell he was angry with himself, so it didn't strike him odd that the other man would be angry as well. He'd been an idiot. He'd screwed everything up. "I didn't intend for her to find out the way she did," Mike said evasively.

Jethro stood up and began pacing. His hands clenched and released into fists almost reflexively. "I've gotta call Hetty," Jethro said suddenly, pulling out his phone.

"Hetty? Why?" Mike asked, surprised.

But Jethro ignored him, the phone already pressed against his ear. "Boss it's Gibbs," he answered. "Can you come by my house? I've got a situation here that needs your attention, I believe."

"Now you just wait a minute there, Probie," Mike pushed himself to his feet. "You got no place calling in the boss to discuss my failing marriage with her. If I want her to know I'll tell her myself."

"Then why'd you come here, Mike?" Jethro snapped the phone shut, satisfied that Hetty was on her way and would be around shortly. "Why did you come here if you weren't looking for help?"

"I was looking for help! What I got is my junior agent ratting me out to my boss for no good reason!"

"No good reason? You just sat here and told me you've been lying to your wife for months. You've been having an affair. What else have you lied about, huh? How many times have you blown off work to go shack up with your girlfriend? I've heard you tell Charley plenty of times that you were going to have to work late, but then you didn't. I figured you were on special assignment or maybe you'd picked up a secondary somewhere. But you weren't, were you? You were off screwing some little—"

Mike stepped right up into Jethro's space, then, one hand raised and ready to strike. "Don't say it," he warned. "She's a nice girl. I won't tolerate you disrespecting her."

Jethro eyed him for a long moment, his blue eyes dark with anger rumbling just beneath the surface. "How did Charley find out?" he asked, his voice just barely louder than a whisper.

Charley, like Jackie, was near and dear to Jethro's heart since Shannon died. She and Jackie, along with Hetty, had really stepped up to help him with the kids, providing some positive female influence for Kelly when she'd needed it the most. Those ladies were queens in Jethro's book. He'd protect any of them. With his own life, if necessary.

"I stopped by the Bistro this afternoon. You guys were all over here…I figured I had a little bit of time. So I stopped in for a drink. I didn't know…how would I have known that…that Charley was there. Eating at the Bistro. She was apparently sitting just around the corner from me."

Mike's conversation with Delia after leaving the bar had filled him in on several of the missing details. Charley had provided him with the rest when she was chewing him a new one outside the diner.

"So you never actually told her," Jethro said, putting the pieces together.

Mike looked down and shook his head.

"So if she hadn't been sitting in the bistro tonight, she _still_ wouldn't know what you've been doing," Jethro accused coldly.

Mike looked up at Jethro then. He was using the same tone of voice he used when he wanted to get a confession in the interrogation room. Mike had taught him that. What the hell was he thinking using it on him now?! He defiantly didn't answer.

"Why did you come here?" Jethro pressed. "What, did you think you'd get my sympathy?"

"I thought I'd get the listening ear of a friend of mine, with some advice on how to fix my situation that is so out of control and messed up."

"What makes you think I think you should fix it? What if I think Charley would be better off without you? She's a good woman, Mike! She deserves better than this! You and Leyla are her whole world!"

"I know that!" Mike growled, rising to his feet to meet Jethro head on. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think it's been killing me to know that I'm hurting her?"

Jethro stepped right up to him, toe to toe. "No," he said. "I don't."

Mike's expression turned to one of horrified shock. "What?! Why?! You know how much I love Charley!"

"Do you?" Jethro sneered. "Because you've got one hell of a way of showing it, buddy, let me tell ya!"

"Oh screw you, Probie. What do you know about it?"

Fury washed over Jethro then. He hadn't been this angry since…since Shannon died. He reached out and grabbed Mike by the lapels on his jacket and slammed him forcefully up against the wall.

"What do I know about it? WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT IT? I'll tell you what I know about it. You're married to a good woman! You've got a beautiful daughter, who has two parents who love her. What do I know about it? I know that I'd end my own life in order to bring my Shannon back—to give my children their mother back—and you—you have this perfect life! You have this wonderful family! You have everything in the world you could ever possibly need or want—and you are throwing it all away!"

"Jethro." Hetty's voice was quiet behind him and he vaguely realized he hadn't even heard her come into the house. "Let him go," Hetty instructed gently.

Jethro realized he had his forearm pressing tightly over Mike's throat, nearly completely cutting the other man's air off. He backed off raggedly and wiped a hand over his mouth. He thought he might throw up. "Get the hell out of my house," he growled at Mike.

"Daddy?"

Jethro closed his eyes. Christ, what a mess. He turned around to see Kelly standing at the foot of the stairs, eyes wide in surprise and…fear?

"Hey Bug," he murmured. She crept closer to him and he wrapped her in a warm embrace. "Sorry I woke you."

"I just didn't know what was going on," Kelly said quietly. "You and Tony never argue like that, so I figured someone must be here."

"Is Tony still asleep?" Jethro spared a glance at the stairs.

"Think so," Kelly shrugged. "I didn't get him up or peek in on him. Are you ok? Your face is really red."

"I'm fine. Just got angry."

Kelly shot a glance at Mike. The other man was currently straightening his coat and he looked like he might want to take a swing at someone. "My Dad asked you to leave," she said coldly.

Mike, still intoxicated and still on the defense, glared at Kelly. "Hey Princess just because your daddy here grew a set and decided—"

"You don't get to speak to my daughter in that tone," Jethro said coldly, inserting himself between Mike and Kelly. "I asked you to leave. I won't ask you again."

"Go to the car, Franks," Hetty snapped. "I'll take you home."

Mike looked mutinous for a moment, but then seemed to deflate. "Sorry about this tonight, Jethro," he said quietly. "Been a rotten day. I…I shouldn't have come."

"There's lots of things you shouldn't have done today," Jethro snapped.

"Enough Jethro," Hetty said quietly, but firmly. "Mike. Out." She jerked toward the door with her head. "Jethro would you mind to gather the file you were working on so I can drop them off at the office?"

"Are you firing me?" Jethro's face blanched in panic.

"Oh no dear, of course not. Mike's being an idiot. I'll take care of him. I'm sorry he disrupted your evening. No, dear, the insertion time for Leon has been moved up. He's on his way to the airport now. That file you're working on is now irrelevant."

"But he needs the information!" Jethro protested. "If you can give me—I can get it finished—I'm sorry it just—I'll—"

"Jethro. He has enough information to do what he needs to do. Once he's out of US Airspace we are not allowed to contact him again until his op is over. You're fine. He will be fine. You were doing what you needed to do tonight."

Jethro kissed Kelly on top of her head. "Go on back to bed, Sweetheart," he told her. "It's all ok now. There won't be any more shouting tonight."

Kelly glanced between Jethro and Hetty for a long moment before nodding. "Is Mike ok?" she asked quietly.

"Mike is not having the best day," Jethro said diplomatically. "He's made some rotten decisions and it's gotten him into some trouble. But it will all be ok. No one is in danger or anything like that. It's just a mess he needs to sort through."

"I heard you yelling about Mom," Kelly said and Hetty gasped quietly.

"Yeah," Jethro said. "Yeah. I got angry with Mike honey. It's all ok now. Mike and I will be fine. I'll talk to him once we've both calmed down. Go get some rest." He kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair lightly. "Goodnight Princess."

Kelly hugged Jethro, then she hugged Hetty. "Goodnight," she said as she disappeared up the stairs.

Jethro moved to the dining room where he started to gather up the file he'd been trying all day to finish for Leon. As he gathered the papers together, he noticed his hands were shaking. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, he sank into a chair and put his face in his hands.

Hetty rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright Jethro?" she asked gently.

"I just…I don't know how he could do that? He has this perfect life…perfect family…just like I had. Mine was ripped away from me. I miss Shannon so much it makes me physically ill to think about it…and he just…he knows that…and he came here to me…to talk to me…did he think I'd be supportive of him? How could I? He still has his wife—and she loves him, and they're raising their daughter together…just…just like I should have gotten to do. Did he think I'd support him in hurting Charley? She's done so much…all of you ladies have…to help Kelly…help Tony. What was he thinking?" Jethro swiped furiously at his face as one lonely tear trickled from his eye.

"Seeing how intoxicated he is…I'm not sure he was thinking at all. I'm going to have a serious talk with him tonight and take him home. He can't act like this. Our jobs require we trust each other. He's been irresponsible. I will take care of it. Are you willing to work things out with him?"

Jethro looked up at his boss, at his dear friend, and took a deep breath. "Sure," Jethro said with a nod, "but I will never be supportive of him cheating on Charley. I can't back that. I won't back that. A wife…a family…it's too precious to throw it all away like that. He and I are still good friends, as far as I'm concerned. I still would like to work with him. There's still plenty I can learn from him. But I won't support him in that. That's on him."

Hetty nodded. She was unsure of all of the things Jethro said, simply because she hadn't heard that Mike was having an affair. She gathered up the rest of the file and picked it up. "Alright dear. Go get some rest. I will see you in the morning. I'll take care of Mike."

Jethro nodded and didn't move to get up as he watched Hetty walk out the door. He was completely spent, between taking care of Tony, Kelly announcing she was going into the Marines, Leon going undercover, and now this shit with Mike brought up the pain of losing Shannon all over again. Once the front door closed, Jethro dropped his forearms onto the dining room table and he let out a sob of frustration. God, what a mess.

What. A. Mess.

TBC…


End file.
